Fairy Tail Meets Life & Death Illusion
by DarkXFeatheredCosmic
Summary: Before Tenroujima, a mysterious girl appears in need of Fairy Tail's help, but she vanishes soon after the guild comes to love her. A few months after the Dragon's Festival, enigmatic figures show up at Fairy Tail's door. Who are they, and what do they want? Read to find out the adventures that await! Rated T for violence and language.
1. Prologue

**AN: Hey everyone! This is a story that I came up with that will follow the main story line of Fairy Tail, but since I added some of my OCs, it'll diverge a bit in order to weave the characters in. I decided to post this after much nagging from my friends, so if you enjoy it, you can thank them. This is the prologue which takes place before Tenroujima but after Edolas. There will be a lot of action, humor, and some pairings in later chapters. Well, I think that's all for now, and I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail, which belongs to Hiro Mashima.**

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><p><strong><span>Prologue<span>**

**-Somewhere Deep in a Forest, Unknown POV-**

"_I must lose them, I must lose them! At least until I get there. Great, it's starting to rain. Perfect. Please let my destination be close!"_

**-A Certain Wizard Guild, Normal POV-**

It was a normal afternoon at a certain mages guild. And even though the weather had just gone from bright and sunny to somber and rainy, the guild was just as rowdy as ever. With the fire dragon slayer fighting against the ice-maker wizard over something pointless, and the iron dragon slayer butting in every once-in-awhile. A take-over sibling, named Elfman, screaming something along the lines of "that is man" every now and then. Cana Alberona was drinking another barrel of alcohol while Erza Scarlet, otherwise known as Titania, was eating her delicious strawberry cake while being completely oblivious to the current state of the guild. Lucy was sitting at the bar while talking to Levy and Mira, and Juvia was in the shadows watching her beloved "Gray-sama" fight Natsu. The rest of the guild was carrying on normally as well with their master sitting on the counter watching everything with a smile. Nothing could ruin this moment, or so they thought.

The big, wooden doors to the guild burst open to reveal the harsh storm and a small figure in the doorway. Everyone in the guild gasped at the figure that was a small girl who looked about ten years old, and was horribly bloodied and bruised. She had long, wavy, midnight black hair that went to her waist, and she had one violet eye open while the other was closed due to a bleeding scratch above it. Her left arm was hanging limp at her side due to the damaged that it had with the right hand grasping it. The girl's outfit was torn in several places to reveal more bloody injuries. The edges of the boots were frayed, but the lower part seemed intact. The girl gave a weak smile.

"I made it." She said quietly before she collapsed. Erza was the first to recover from the beginning shock. She sprinted to the young girl and held her gently in her arms. Up close, Titania could tell that the injuries were serious which amazed her at how the girl was able to come to the guild in such a state. She didn't waste time on such thoughts, for the girl was in danger of death.

"Wendy! Come to the infirmary, quickly! She needs medical attention, now!" Erza shouted while running to the medical center within the guild. Wendy had recovered from her stupor and dashed off in pursuit of Erza. Everyone eventually recovered from theirs as well, and the Master went up to the infirmary to check on the situation, and for once, the guild was left in complete silence.

Wendy was healing the young girl as efficiently as she possibly could. Her injuries were very serious, but were slowly closing due to her sky magic. Erza stood on the opposite side of the bed while watching the Sky dragon slayer work. The door opened to reveal Master Makarov walk in to make sure everything is okay. After several more minutes of feverish healing on Wendy's part, she eventually sat down on the side of the bed while breathing heavily from the exhaustion.

"How is she?" Erza asked the sky magic user who looked up at the weapon re-quipper with her big brown eyes.

"She's going to be fine, just needs some more rest, but the wounds that still exist are no longer fatal." Relief swept through the two listeners as their shoulders relaxed.

"That's good." Master said in his usual tone. "I'll go tell the rest of the guild, let me know when the young girl wakes up." Erza nodded and the Master small retreating figure left the room. Soon the guild would be rushing in to see for themselves that the news was true after hearing it from Master. Titania pondered why a little girl would be that badly injured and not go to a hospital, but come to a wizard's guild. While contemplating these thoughts, she also noticed that Wendy looked completely exhausted from the expense of using so much of her magic in a short period of time.

"Wendy, why don't you rest or get something to eat, I'll watch over the girl for now." The little dark blue haired mage didn't complain and left the room. Just as peace and quiet settled back in, the door was kicked down to allow the oncoming guild members in. _Yep, it is just as I anticipated._ Erza thought to herself while the others all began crowding around the bed where the young girl lay. They all started asking questions a bit too loudly. The questions were all the same: "Who is she?" "Why did she come to the guild instead of a hospital?" and, "What caused her to be so badly injured?" A vein popped on Erza's forehead from her friends' stupidity. The girl was asleep for Mavis's sake, and they're talking loudly in her presence?! Erza re-quipped a sword and pointed it at her friends.

"Would you guys be quiet?! The girl is sleeping!" The scarlet-haired mage yelled even louder than all of her comrades. Everyone shrunk back in fear of the wrath of Erza when they suddenly heard a groan coming from the bed. The girl had sat up while holding her head. Everyone stared in wonder as if the girl had come back to life while Erza looked mortified. Had she just woken up the girl while trying to silence everyone else? She thought to herself as the girl looked around the room.

"Where am I?" Her voice sounded a bit hoarse, but that was to be expected. A guy with pink spikey hair and a girl with shoulder length blonde hair stepped in front of the crowd with smiles adorning their faces.

"You're in Fairy Tail!" The pink-haired male said with much enthusiasm while the girl stood next to him smiling. The young girl looked between the two before a smile came to her face.

"So I really did make it, after all." Erza and Lucy both thought that they saw her violet eyes flash multiple colors when she said this, but decided that it was a trick of the light. Wendy came back in with a bread roll in her hands. It was obvious that she went to get something to eat. Everyone created a path for the healing mage and she walked to the bed.

"I'm glad that you're awake, but you should continue resting in order to fully heal your injuries." Wendy said in her sweet tone. The girl smiled and her eyes seemed to flash with the colors again. This time, Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel also noticed it.

"Thanks for your concern, and for healing me, but the injuries you're speaking of are only mere scratches now, see." The girl held out her left arm for everyone to see faint red lines on her skin to mark where the injuries once were. Wendy's eyes widened in shock; this reaction was caused by the fact that the young sky dragon slayer knew that she hadn't healed the mysterious girl that much. Yet, the serious injuries were now minor scratches on the girl's arms. Meanwhile, Lucy was pondering at how the girl knew that Wendy had healed her, and not someone else.

"Excuse me, but how did you know that Wendy healed you?" The girl's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before reverting back to normal. Team Natsu, plus Wendy and Gajeel, were now very suspicious of the girl.

"W-well, you see, I regained partial consciousness earlier and heard the Lady with red hair and Wendy talking." The girl said while pointing at Erza and the sky dragon slayer. Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Gajeel, and Wendy were still suspicious, but decided to let the subject drop.

"We don't know your name yet, will you please tell us?" The sweet voice of Mira asked the little girl and she turned her head to look at the long, silver haired female.

"Esrevinu, but you can just call me Esre." Everyone thought that it was Erza at first, but quickly realized that there wasn't a "z" or "a" in the name, and they only hoped that she wasn't like scary Erza. It was then that Master piped up and said that they should all get out of the infirmary, except Team Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel, and, of course, Esre. The guild quickly filed out with a few complaints from Juvia since she didn't want to leave her "Gray-sama", but eventually complied with the Master's request. When the door was closed, the Master sighed and looked directly at Esre who gazed back at him with slightly unfocused eyes.

"Esre, pardon my abruptness, but what caused all of those injuries, and why did you come to a wizard's guild instead of a hospital?" Esre eyes looked a little shocked, but she scrunched into a ball. Lucy sat down next to her and began rubbing comforting circles on her back.

"I'm being pursued by many people, and every once in a while they catch up to me. I barely escape every time, but I never leave unscathed. I should probably start when it began, shouldn't I?" Everyone in the room nodded with wide eyes, and sat down since they suspected that this'll be a long story. Esre took a deep breath before starting again.

"You see, a couple of months ago, my guardian, who has been taking care of me since I was four, disappeared mysteriously. I needed to move on, but people started coming after a young girl with a special ability. I know that you've all seen the way that my eyes sometimes change color, correct? That's the indicator, and that's what my pursuers saw, so now they're after me. However, I lost them in the neighboring woods, and I debated to either go to the hospital or here. I had heard really good things about this place, so I came here. That's my story, and don't worry! I'll be leaving as soon as my energy is fully charged, so you won't have to worry about the pursuers—," Esre was cut off by a huge hug. All of the females in the room had run up and hugged her so that she wouldn't say anymore. Normally, they would've slapped the person, but seeing as it was a troubled little girl, they couldn't bring themselves to slap her.

"It's kind of you to think of us, but do not worry." Lucy said with a smile and a few tears in the corners of her eyes. Erza nodded her head in agreement before continuing what the celestial mage was saying in a very sweet tone.

"That's right, Esre. You're safe here, so you can stay as long as you like, right Master?" Erza sent the Master a light glare to make sure that he said yes, even though he was going to say the same thing anyways.

"Yes, we welcome you into Fairy Tail as a nakama." [Nakama means "friend"] All of the people were giving such warming smiles that it brought tears to Esre's eyes. It was in the moment of shedding tears that her eyes completely changed to multi-colors and her waist-length, wavy hair also changed from black to a darker shading of multi-colors. Everyone's eyes widened in shock at Esre's change, and it was then that she realized what happened.

"Please keep this a secret." Esrevinu begged them while her eyes went back to being violet and her hair turned back to dark black. Everyone in the room nodded, and bid Esre goodbye as Wendy was ushering them out to finish healing the little girl.

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><p><strong>-The Next Day, Esrevinu's POV-<strong>

I groaned as I woke to the bright rays of sunshine peering through the widows. I glanced around the room after I yawned while I stretched. I was in Fairy Tail's infirmary and Tit- err, Erza-san, was sleeping in the bed next to me. It was when I glanced at her that I remembered last night's conversation that went on while I was supposed to be sleeping…

**-Flashback-**

_ "Erza, would you mind watching over Esre? Her story seems to contain many holes as if she is hiding something, and I don't want to be one to pry into a young girl's secrets. I will try to make sure to send people to take shifts, but the young girl seems to have taken a liking to you and Lucy the most. Will you fulfill my favor?" The master said in a hushed tone that, if it wasn't for my expert hearing, I wouldn't have heard. Erza-san must've agreed since I heard the Master say "good" before the door to the infirmary opened and the Titania walked in. I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing to make it seem like I was asleep the whole time._

**-Flashback End-**

I don't blame them for wanting to keep watch over me, in fact, I probably do the same if I was the master of Fairy Tail. Should I wake Erza-san up? However, she seems really tired, but if I'm not here when she wakes up then she'll probably get worried. I looked around and noticed a napkin on the side table next to my bed with a pen next to it. Perfect! I quickly grabbed it and started writing a message to Erza-san.

_Dear Erza-san,_

_Please don't be alarmed that I am not in bed for I am simply downstairs getting something to eat. Thank you for watching over me while I was sleeping this previous night._

_Sincerely,_

_Esrevinu_

I gently and carefully placed the note in her hand so that she'll see it when she first wakes up before slipping out of the bed. I noticed that I wasn't wearing the clothes that I came in, and instead wearing a lavender sundress with dark violet stars and a violet ribbon around my waist. I nodded in approval at the outfit and found my old, tattered boots by the end of the bed. I quietly slipped them on before exiting the room in complete silence.

I assume that that room was sound proof because the guild below was just as rowdy as before I entered. I glanced at a nearby clock and saw that it was ten o'clock. That's the latest I've slept in for ages! I normally have to get up at five in the morning in order to stay ahead of my pursuers, the mere thought of them made me shiver as I slowly descended down the steps. It would seem that my shivering didn't go unnoticed as the blonde celestial spirit mage, Lucy-san I think it was, came towards me with a worried look in her brown eyes. I gave her a smile to let her know I was okay and she answered with one of her own.

"Good morning Lucy-san!" I exclaimed in a cheery tone, and at the sound of my voice, the entire guild stopped what they were doing to stare at me. My cheeks flared with warmth at the attention I was getting, but Lucy-san's smile helped ease the embarrassment a little.

"Good morning Esre-chan. How are you doing?" She answered as the Salamander, err, Natsu-san, came bounding up behind her with a big, toothy grin adorning his facial features.

"I'm doing well; the majority of my wounds are healed as well as most of my energy has returned." Everyone sighed in relief when they heard my condition and all of their smiles returned. Once again, I find myself thinking that it was the right decision to come here instead of a hospital.

"Well that's good to hear, you must be famished, would you like something to eat?" Lucy-san said in a pleasant voice and I nodded. As we made our way over to the bar counter, I heard a low rumbling from the area of my stomach, and in response, my face flared with heat from my blush. The entire guild started bursting out laughing while Natsu-san got down to my level to look me in the eyes.

"Seems like you've got an appetite there!" I smiled at his comment and as I made it to the counter, people started going back to whatever they were doing before I came down. The nice bar-tender with long, silver hair (wasn't her name Mira-san?) came over to us with a pleasant smile.

"My, my, now what would the hungry girl want this morning?" I pondered this for a minute before answering.

"May I have scrambled eggs with chocolate chip pancakes and blackberries, please? If that's not too much trouble." I quickly added the last part and Mira-san smiled brightly while Natsu-san and Lucy-san took the seats beside me.

"It's no trouble, but would you like anything to drink?" Mira-san asked in a polite tone which made me smile even more.

"May I have some milk, please?" I asked and Mira-san and I heard a squeal come from my left. I turned to look at Lucy-san, since she was the one who squealed, before getting squished into a hug. Mira-san started giggling before walking off into the kitchen to prepare my breakfast.

"You're so CUTE, Esre-chan!" I felt my cheeks flare from embarrassment at Lucy-san's comment, while hearing a boisterous laugh coming from Natsu-san. It was then that two girls with blue hair came over to our little group. One was short and had on an orange dress with glasses (her name was Levy-san, I think), while the other had shoulder length, curly, blue hair and dark blue eyes (Juvia-san, I think it was, and wasn't she just obsessing over Gray-san?).

"Lu-chan, I don't think the girl can breathe!" When Lucy-san noticed what Levy-san had stated was true, she immediately released me and started apologizing. The laughing coming from Natsu-san got louder as I tried to tell Lucy-san that it was alright. In the meantime, I noticed Juvia-san staring off towards a raven haired man who seemed to be stripping. Lucy-san, Natsu-san, and Levy-san noticed my line of vision as well as my uncomfortable look before they all began glaring at Gray-san.

"Gray! Put on some clothes there's a little girl in the guild!" The three shouted in unison, and just as Gray was getting all flustered, Erza-san and Mira-san entered the main room. The two ladies seemed to notice the current situation of me being uncomfortable with a guy who was partially stripped down to his boxers and three people glaring at him. Both of them got evil and angry looks in their eyes.

"GRAY!" The said man turned to look at the two angry women before gulping loudly in fear. Mira-san put down my breakfast before stepping between me and Gray-san while Erza-san slowly, and epically, descended from the upper floor while never removing her harsh glare from the Ice Make Mage. Just as I began to hear the sounds of a raging battle, I turned to start eating my food. It's been too long since I ate something so good! Lucy-san and I sighed at the same time but for two different reasons. I was sighing from contentment of the delicious breakfast while Lucy-san sighed from the fight raging behind me. We both looked at each other and started laughing. Natsu-san and Levy-san looked at us skeptically, but began laughing as well. It was the first time since my guardian disappeared that I've been so relaxed and able to have fun, but I should've known that this bliss wouldn't last forever…

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><p>Two days have passed since I first arrived here, and even though my wounds have long healed and my energy has been fully charged for a while, I just couldn't seem to leave the guild. Within the past two days, I've been able to stay at Lucy-san's and Erza-san's houses since they felt that I'd be lonely by staying in the infirmary. When I was at Lucy-san's house, Natsu-san seemed to enter naturally through the window and I asked Lucy-san in private if she and Natsu-san liked each other. She turned into a cherry while waving me off saying that there was nothing more than friendship between them, and even though I didn't believe it, I let it drop. I had fun at her house, and Erza-san showed me her collection of armor. It was so incredible! We chatted and laughed together and we visited the other girls within Fairy Hills.<p>

During the day, I went to the guild and spent time with everyone there. All the girls seemed to want to cuddle with me since I was "so cute" even though I am ten years old, and even though they were worried that I'd get hurt with the guys, I managed to have fun with them. I beat some of the guys at fighting due to some of my previous training, but as soon as magic started to come out, I quickly left the fray. However, as time went on, I started to get more and more anxious. Why was there no sign of my pursuers? Hadn't they realized where I was by now? When will it be time for me to leave? These questions are constantly on my mind, and I can't get rid of them even though I'm having fun.

Then, while I was resting in the infirmary during the day in order to get a little shut-eye, a vision struck me awake.

**-Vision-**

_My pursuers were closing in on the town of Magnolia and they were all headed towards one destination…Fairy Tail. They had finally decided to make their move, and soon it would be too late. The scene changed to two different futures: One had me staying and Fairy Tail getting dragged into my problems and some of the guild members became injured, but I couldn't tell if there were any casualties. The second one had me leaving with wiping the guilds' memory of me and the pursuers leaving the entire guild alone. The vision faded…_

**-Vision End-**

I woke with tears streaking down my cheeks and cold sweat on my forehead. I knew it, I had stayed here too long and now my pursuers were after me. The two futures reappeared in my mind, and I shuddered. I don't want them to hurt my friends, so I'll leave for their safety. I quickly got out of bed and put on my worn traveling boots. Luckily, I was wearing something easy to travel in and my backpack of necessities was with me due to my anxiousness. I wiped my tears as I quickly and quietly slipped into the Master's office in order to inform him of the news.

When I arrived, he seemed to have sensed my mood and looked at me in a sad way. He waved his hand signaling that I should go up to the desk, which I did. While I was explaining the situation, the Master's frown got worse and worse and my voice started cracking, and when I finished my tale, he was stroking his chin and let out a mournful sigh.

"You knew this day would come and you've prepared yourself?" I nodded since I no longer trusted my voice to speak. I saw pure sadness in his eyes, like he was losing a grandchild, and it reminded me of my parents. "This shall be a great loss, and we shall all be saddened by it, even if we don't remember you. Just know that this shall always be your home and your family if you ever need us." The tears I had been fighting finally spilled and I hugged Master. After a few minutes, I wiped my tear streaked face and looked Master in the eyes.

"I will return, this is my new home, and I shall never forget what you've done for me. When I erase your memories, you shall all slowly regain it when you see me again, but until then I shall miss all of you." I gave the Master one more, quick hug before reciting the spell that will erase all of their memories. Once the spell was complete, I exited the guild via the window in Master's office and ran into the forest once again. Tears began to fall as my hair and eye color changed back into their original colors. Goodbye, Fairy Tail…

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><p><strong>AN: And...CUT! That's it for the prologue. After this, time will skip to after the Magic GamesDragon Festival where the main story will actually start. I'd like to know what people think about the story so far, and constructive criticism is valued as well as any and all reviews. I will try to answer any questions unless I feel like the answer will give too much of the story away. Anyways, thank you for reading and enjoy your day! ;)**


	2. Chapter 1: The Arrival

**AN: Hey everyone, again! I'm back with the first chapter, technically. I thank everyone who read this, reviewed, or favorited it; it really made my day. To continue on with the story, this is now a few months after the Magic Games and the Dragon Festival (as it says below). The main story starts with this update, so please enjoy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail, which belongs to Hiro Mashima**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 1: The Arrival<span>**

**-Seven Years Later- After Tenroujima, Grand Magic Games, & Dragon Festival- Normal POV-**

The famous guild that had dropped from strongest to weakest and back to the strongest in seven years has finally returned after their victory in the Magic Games and against the evil forces of Future Rogue with the dragons. With their winnings from the Magic Games, the guild was able to return to their original, huge guild complex which everyone was happy about. In celebration, Fairy Tail did what Fairy Tail does best…Party! The next day almost everyone seemed to wake up on the guild floor with a hangover before all going back home to get some rest in order to get back into the routine of things.

A few months have passed since then, and the guild looks like it did before the S-class crew left for Tenroujima Island. Team Natsu has just returned from another mission in whom Lucy had only received a portion of the reward since the team had destroyed part of the town they went to. While the celestial mage sat at the bar talking to Mirajane and Levy, Erza was eating her cake while all the guys were brawling with each other over something stupid like somebody getting in another one's way. Juvia was watching the fight from afar while cheering for "Gray-sama" while Cana was laughing at the scene with a large barrel of beer in her hands. Only when Elfman accidently knocked over Erza's cake did the fight end with Erza releasing her wrath on all of the males. In other words, it was a typical day in the wizard guild of Fairy Tail.

However, little did the guild members know just how abnormal their day was going to get. For, five figures were standing on a hill outside of the town of Magnolia their eyes glued to one spot…Fairy Tail.

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><p>After Erza had settled down did everything in the guild go back to normal, and Mira decided that it would be best to give the powerful re-quip mage a new slice of cake before she went into her rage mode again. Natsu and Gray were still fighting each other with Lucy looking on in laughter at their idiocy. Elfman was spouting something about being a man with Evergreen hitting him when he did. It was during this peaceful time that the guild heavy wooden doors swung open with a loud, earsplitting bang.<p>

The entire guild fell into an unusual, tension filled silence while they all stared at the doorway. There, they all saw three cloaked figures standing in the doorway. The one in the middle was about average height, and wore a violet cloak that stopped at her hips to show a dark violet skirt that went down to mid-thigh with lavender colored leggings beneath it. The violet person also had dark, multi-colored, mid-calf, one inch high heeled boots.

The person on the left was pretty short and had a sky-blue colored cloak that went to her waist and had a white bow around the person's neck. The blue-cloaked figure was also wearing royal blue gloves that matched her royal blue silk ribbon around her waist, a white dress with small light blue embroidered flowers on the hem of her knee long skirt, and sky-blue half-an-inch ankle boots.

Lastly, the figure on to the right of the one in the middle was taller than average and had a knee long red cloak with a chain around his/her neck and black leather, knee-high lace-up, 2" high heeled boots. The guild was frozen in a stunned silence until the girl, or what they assumed was a girl, with the purple cloak stepped forward and said something.

"We would like to speak with your Master." The person said with a feminine sounding voice that was a mix between Erza's stern voice and Lucy's kind voice. The guild immediately got on the defensive, these people wouldn't be allowed to see the Master until they got through them. Erza and Lucy were hesitant to be completely against these people for something within the purple girl's voice seemed familiar.

"What is it that you want with Gramps?" Gray asked in harsh, cold tone towards the figures. The girl in the middle stood there calmly while the one on her left was rocking back and forth from foot to foot in nervousness while the red-cloaked figure seemed to be getting a little irritated. Just as the girl in violet was about to reply, the person in red spoke up.

"Didn't you hear her?! She wanted to talk to your Master!" It was a girl's voice, but it was harsher and colder than Erza's scary tone. The guild immediately prepared to attack the newcomers when a voice spoke in their place.

"Well, if you would like to speak to me, than you may enter my office." Everyone turned to the source of the voice, who was the Master. He was standing on the bar counter calmly staring directly at the three figures. The girl in the middle nodded politely towards the older man before signaling to her comrades that they should follow. Just as the guild was about to prevent them from following, the Master yelled at all of them again. "Listen up Brats, these people merely asked to talk to me, if they were a threat, wouldn't they have already attacked the guild?" The Master left them to ponder that while returning to his office with the three visitors in tow.

**-In the Master's Office-**

The Master jumped onto his desk before turning to take the three figures in. He could tell that they were all female by the way that they carried themselves, but he couldn't feel any magic emitting from their beings. However, the one he was most suspicious of was the one in the middle, but before he could get lost in thought, the girl in red cleared her throat to snap him from his thoughts.

"Now, what brings you to Fairy Tail?" Master asked in a welcoming tone and the girl in violet began removing her hood. Waist length, wavy, dark multi-colored hair fell from the hood and the girl had somewhat pale skin with her side bangs clipped back. When the girl opened her eyes, they flashed multi-colored before settling on violet. She gave a grin to the Master, and it was in that moment that the Master realized why he had recognized her voice.

"Esrevinu…" The Master said softly and the said girl smiled. She signaled for her friends to remove their hoods before speaking.

"Actually, that's my cover name; my real name is Deoxies, Deoxies Space. And these two are my friends." She gestured to the two next to her, and the Master noticed their appearances. The girl in the blue had shoulder length, straight, light blue hair with sparkling sapphire-azure colored eyes that matched her slightly tan skin. Her smile was angelic and she had two royal blue ribbons in her hair. Around her wrists were four gold bangles that jangled together (two per wrist).

The other girl in red had long, curly, flame-red hair that went down to her butt and had black tips on them. Her eyes were a striking ruby color that seemed to contain much sadness and you could only see her left eye (due to her bangs), while her facial features showed no emotion on her almost deathly-pale skin. For accessories, the girl had two black chains around her wrists that had a red diamond shape on them and she had different red & black diamond piercings in her ears.

"Hi Master! My name is Angelica Arc-de-Clair! But everyone just calls me Ange!" The girl in blue and white said in a loud, cheery, yet angelic, voice. The Master of Fairy was wiping the inside of his ear to help ease the pain of the sudden loudness while listening to the other girl.

"The name's Devilily, Devilily Larmenoir, Old Guy." The girl in red and black said in a lower, monotonous voice and when she said "old guy" there seemed to be a small evil glint in her left eye. The Master's jaw dropped at the Devilily's harshness while Deoxies only face-palmed. The Master cleared his throat to get the three girls' attention.

"I'm very happy and relieved to see that you are alive and well Es-Deoxies, but may I inquire as to why you have returned?" The said girl smiled warmly similar to how she used to seven years ago.

"I promised that I'd return, didn't I? Besides, I'm no longer being pursued and you said that this was a home that I could always return to, so my friends and I decided that we have seen enough of the world and would like to stay in one place." What the girl had said brought tears to Makarov's eyes as he nodded with understanding. Deoxies decided to continue what she was saying. "So, we would like to join Fairy Tail, if that's alright with you." The Old man nodded vigorously with a big grin on his face.

"Of course you can, my child. Welcome home to Fairy Tail." Tears welled in Deoxies eyes as well when the Master had said this.

"Arigato, Master, tadaima." [Arigato = Thank you, Tadaima = I'm back/home] She smiled at the Master and Angelica was grinning in an angelic way while Devilily had a small smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Now, why don't you three go out to Mira and tell her that I said that you three could join, okay?" Deoxies eyes widened in shock for a fraction of a second which confused Makarov.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, we have three more friends. Two of them are searching for a place for us to stay while the third…is sort of missing…" The Master nodded and told them that any friends of Deoxies were welcome at Fairy Tail which made her smile. The three girls exited Makarov's office to enter a guild hall full of shocked mages. They had overheard everything that happened in his office, and after a few minutes of staring dumbfounded, tears entered all of the girls' eyes while the guys all grinned.

"WELCOME BACK, DEOXIES, AND WELCOME DEOX'S FRIENDS!" The entire guild cheered while Deoxies grinned with tears in the corners of her multi-colored eyes, Ange smiled broadly while Devi had a smirk.

"Tadaima." Deox said quietly while Mira, Erza, and Lucy all rushed forward to embrace her in a loving hug. Angelica soon joined the hug as well while Devi just stood on the sidelines saying that she doesn't like hugs. The entire guild threw a party in the honor of Deoxies return as well as the joining of her and her friends. Mira called the three of them over to give them the stamp of Fairy Tail members.

"What colors do you girls want and where do you want them?" Mira asked in a sweet tone.

"Can I have different shades of violet and on my right shoulder, please?" Mira nodded and placed varying shades of purple stamp on Deoxies right shoulder. Angelica waved her small hand in the air to signal that she wanted to go next.

"Can I have a gradient of royal blue to white on my right hand, please Mira-san?" Mira smiled at the small girl before placing the stamp where she was instructed. She looked to the tallest girl out of the three who sighed.

"I would like to have a red and black stamp, similar to cooling lava, and May I have it here?" Devilily asked, and pointed to her left side of her lower stomach area. Mira nodded while placing that stamp where she was told. Just as the four girls were joining the party, the guild's doors burst open for the second time that day.

There stood two guys that looked about seventeen. They were both tall and the taller one was waving at the guild while the other one was regaining his composure after kicking the doors open. The taller one had light brown hair that was a little long (but not long enough to put in a ponytail) and wavy. He wore glasses over his bright, lime green eyes and his skin was slightly tan. He was wearing a forest green cloak over a minty-green shirt and he had cargo pants on. His sneakers were also a darker green, and on his wrists he wore five watches (three on the left, two on the right) with a blue ribbon on the right arm as well.

While he was smiling warmly, the other seemed to have a slight scowl on his slightly tan (but tanner than the other guy) face. The other guy had messy black hair with red and yellow highlights while his eyes were a stormy gray color. This guy wasn't wearing a cloak, so everyone could see that he was wearing a dark gray sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up and a bright yellow T-shirt beneath it, ripped jeans, gray combat boots, a yellow lightning pendant on a chain as well as dark gray fingerless leather gloves with a chain bracelet that had a yellow lightning bolt with a red diamond-shape in the middle of it.

Once the guild laid eyes on the two guys, they immediately went into defensive stances since the two guys looked dangerous. However, none of them even got the chance to utter a single word before they were all pushed aside by a stampeding Angelica.

"CODY!" She screamed in a high pitched tone that made everyone cover their ears except for the said guy. Cody, or so he was called, was the tall guy wearing green and he opened his arms as Ange jumped at him to give him a hug. The other guy, seeing the imminent doom of a little angel, quickly got out of the way just as Angelica hugged Cody with so much force that it almost caused him to fall to the ground. "I missed you so much!" Angelica exclaimed while Cody chuckled slightly.

"But we were only separated for an hour and a half, Ange." Cody replied back in a polite tone which made Angelica pout a little.

"I know that…" Ange said quietly while Cody and she parted from their hug. Meanwhile, the entire guild was staring at the scene in shock while the other guy, Devilily, and Deoxies were all shaking their heads. It was then that the Master appeared before everyone gaining all of their attention.

"I assume that you two are the other friends that Deoxies mentioned?" He asked while looking at Deox who was nodding. "Therefore, you two are welcome to Fairy Tail!" Cody grinned and the other guy smirked before walking towards the bar where Mira was waiting to give them a stamp as well. Just as the guy in yellow and gray was passing Devi, she said something.

"Next time, don't kick down a door that isn't yours, Thunder Mouth." He glared at her and she gave him smug look back.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Death Breath." He replied with before walking over to Mira with Cody in tow. When they arrived Mirajane looked at the two.

"What are your names?" She asked in her usual sweet tone.

"I am Cody Histoire-vernir, at your service Mira-san." He said in a very polite tone while bowing slightly, and "Thunder Mouth" scoffed at his behavior.

"Castor Greve-ame." Castor said with his muscular arms crossed. Many guys within the guild were starting to get pissed at this guy's attitude, but they didn't want to do anything while Master was in the room.

"Well Cody, Castor, to symbolize that you've joined Fairy Tail, you must have a stamp, so what color would you like and where?" Mira asked and the two guys glanced at each other.

"I would prefer a mixture of different shades of green for the color, and can my stamp go on my left hand?" Cody asked and Mira complied with his request.

"Can I have a stamp similar to Devi's but with yellow and gray instead of red and black? Oh, and I would like it to go here." Castor said while pointing to the left side of his chest. Mira placed the yellow and gray stamp where he wanted it before the guild settled down again. Master Makarov cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention again.

"It seems that we have five new additions to our guild, I hope you all will welcome them warmly. Now, Let's Party!"

"YEAH!" The guild replied with before beginning to drink and fight with enjoyment. Somewhere along the way, Castor ended up joining the guys' fist fight and held his own while Deoxies was bombarded with questions from Lucy and Erza (who was eating cake). Cody stayed by Angelica's side the whole night while Levy, Lisanna, and Mira all chatted with her. Juvia was mainly cheering Gray on, but every once in a while joining some conversations with Deox or Ange. Cana had challenged Devilily to a drinking contest and many came to watch that. Bets were placed and the majority voted that Cana would win, but to their shock, Devilily won after drinking 100 barrels of beer without getting the slightest bit drunk. Castor threw an insult at her which caused another massive fight to break out within the guild leaving it destroyed, Master crying, and Erza's cake on the floor. It was just another day for Fairy Tail.

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><p>Later that evening, the newcomers were having a discussion at one of the tables in the guild while many people were starting to go home. Angelica was resting her head on Cody's shoulder and was asleep while the other four talked in hushed tones.<p>

"So, did you guys find a decent place for us to stay at?" Devi inquired while glancing back and forth between the two boys.

"Yeah, we found a place, we'll show you guys if you want to head back." Castor explained and Devi nodded her head. The group got up from their spot and started heading towards the doors. Cody had picked up the sleeping Ange and was going to carry her back to the house when Deoxies stopped them.

"Hold up, I almost forgot, Lucy-san invited Mira-san, Erza-san, Levy-san, Juvia-san, Lisanna-san, Wendy-chan, Devi, and I to a sleepover at her house. I was planning on going, you Devi?" She shrugged before slightly nodding her head. Castor got a bit of an annoyed look at this, and Cody only frowned slightly.

"They didn't invite Angelica?" Deoxies shook her head before stating,

"Lucy-san did, but Ange looks tired and we're probably going to stay up late chatting. Why don't you guys take her to the house and we'll catch up with you guys tomorrow, sound fair?" The two boys nodded in agreement, and just as Devi and Deox were about to head to Lucy's house, Castor called out to them.

"We erected a magical barrier around the house, so try to sense our magic in case you need us for some reason, okay Puny Ember?!" A vein popped on Devi's forehead at the insult that Castor threw at her and she immediately retorted back in a very harsh tone.

"We knew that since we're not idiots like you, Sparky!" Castor was about to fight back when Deoxies stepped between them.

"Both of you SHUT UP! We'll see you two boys tomorrow, good night!" She said before storming off while dragging Devilily behind her.

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><p><strong>AN: Chapter one is completed. I hope it was enjoyable as you met my OCs. Any and all reviews are appreciated, and constructive criticism is welcomed. The next chapter will be the sleep over, but for now I shall be saying "good bye" and I hope you enjoy your day! ;)<strong>


	3. Chapter 2: The Sleepover

**AN: Hello, everyone! This is chapter two and, as promised, the sleepover. I thank all of those who read, reviewed, and/or favorite this story! It really brightened my day! Getting back to the story, the majority of this chapter is from Lucy's perspective, so I apologize in advance if she doesn't sound like herself, though I tried to make it sound like her. Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail, which belongs to Hiro Mashima**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 2: The Sleepover<span>**

**-Lucy's House, Lucy's POV-**

I have to prepare my house quickly for the sleepover I'm hosting with the majority of the girls from Fairy Tail who could come. I strictly told Natsu to NOT come over tonight because all of the girls would be here and we will probably stay up late talking about girl stuff and catching up with Deox-chan. Wow, she's changed a lot in the past seven years, and I almost didn't recognize her. However, her smile and personality hasn't changed much, which is a good thing. I can't believe that we're now the close in age because I was frozen in time for those seven years. I wonder how she was doing during that time… Focus Lucy! You still have to prepare snacks and beverages and have some movies ready in case we want to watch something. The girls will be coming over around eight o'clock and it is…7:45?! Crap, I only have fifteen minutes left! I started rushing around my house throwing any stuff laying out into a closet while placing snacks on a tray and the beverages in the refrigerator. I placed a stack of movies right next to the TV before sitting down next to my bed in exhaustion.

I heard the window above my bed open and I immediately knew Natsu had showed up in my house even though I yelled at him to stay away! I was about to get up and kick Natsu out of my house when his head popped up from the bed and looked down at me.

"Hey Luce, what are you doing on the floor?" I should be used to this kind of entrance from the fire dragon slayer, yet it still manages to startle me. I yelped in surprise while jumping slightly which cause our foreheads to collide. I was rolling on the ground in pain and I heard a grunt from Natsu as well. Perhaps that taught him a lesson to not do that again. After a few minutes of trying to recover from my agony, I stood up and glared at Natsu who visibly gulped in fear.

"Natsu, what did I tell you about coming to my house tonight?" He glanced around the room in order to avoid eye contact.

"That I should come and spend the night?" He said hesitantly which made a vein pop on my forehead from my anger. I seriously don't know how I manage to put up with his idiocy. Just as I was about to yell at him, the doorbell rang. I sighed at the person's perfect timing before glaring at Natsu while walking away. To my surprise the first people here were Deoxies and Devilily, I think her friend's name was. I smiled brightly at them.

"Hey you two, welcome to my house." Deoxies smiled warmly at me while Devilily gave me an emotionless look. I started getting nervous because of her reaction but then Deox leaned over to whisper something in my ear.

"She can't show any emotion except anger and possibly a slight smirk, if you're lucky. So, since she's not blowing up in your face, that means you're fine." The info helped me feel a bit more at ease, but I still couldn't help but wonder why didn't Devi show any emotion? I noticed that they were still standing in my doorway and I quickly ushered them into my house. They only seemed to have one bag each which made me wonder how they managed to travel so much with so little, but I quickly pushed that thought aside when I noticed that Natsu was still in my room.

"Natsu! I thought I told you that you couldn't come here tonight!" He gave me his innocent pout which made me hesitate a little but I reminded myself that the girls were coming over and if they saw him here I would get teased to no end.

"But Luce, can't I stay here until you're other guests arrive?" I was about to tell him no way when Deoxies spoke up instead.

"I don't mind him staying until the others arrive, besides I didn't get to catch up with him today." I sighed while signaling to them that he could stay. He did a happy dance and began swinging me around in his joy.

"N-Natsu! Stop it! I have guests, remember?!" He immediately put me down and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry Luce." We all sat down in a circle and began chatting.

"So, Deo, how come we didn't remember you until you showed up at the guild?" I saw a vein pop on her forehead at the nickname that Natsu gave her and I raised one of my eyebrows in question.

"Don't call me 'Deo' again, got that?!" Natsu nodded vigorously at her scary tone while saying his Happy impression of "Aye sir!" I looked over at Devilily for an explanation, and she noticed my gaze.

"Deox doesn't like the nick name of 'Deo' and blows up at everyone who calls her that except—" Devilily paused to notice a deadly aura emitting from the said girl, but continued on in spite of it. "—except her childhood friend who, no matter how many times she tried to shut up, continued to call her it." I nodded in understanding while wondering how Devi managed to continue with such a deadly aura behind her.

"Devilily, why did you tell them that?!" Deoxies screamed at Devi who just simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, you don't want them to call you the nickname, right? So then you have to explain to them why."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to tell them the last part!"

"Oh well." Deoxies stood up so abruptly that I thought the whole house would collapse from the force. She was glaring down at Devi with such a murderous gaze that I gulped even though it wasn't directed at me. Natsu and I exchanged looks and he whispered something in my ear.

"It's another Erza!" I suppressed the urge to giggle at his childishness while continuing to watch the scene in front of me. Deox had continued to glare at the red head while she just emotionlessly looked back at her.

"Lucy-san, you have refreshments in your kitchen, right?" She said with such rage that I sat up straight.

"Y-yes, Deoxies."

"Good, I need something to drink." After she spoke these words through gritted teeth, she stormed off to my kitchen. I hope she doesn't break anything.

"S-she's scary." Natsu said while cowering lower behind my back and Devi shrugged.

"Eh, that's not too scary." I studied the flame-head. She seemed so nonchalant about the whole discussion that it seemed hard to believe that the only emotion that she could show was anger. It made me wonder just how scary her wrath was when she blew up.

"To answer your silent questions, I'm a whole lot worse than what you just experience when I'm pissed, and it's so bad that I'm actually called 'the devil.'" Natsu and I gulped in fear, just how scary was this girl. My thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell ringing and I looked over at Natsu who was still frozen in fear. I gently shook him from his stupor while glaring at him.

"Natsu, it's time for you to go." He pouted at me again.

"Luce, I don't want to go." I felt a vein pop on my forehead from his infantile behavior.

"I don't care, the girls are here and you said that you'd leave when they did, now go!" I heard the doorbell ring again and I shouted that I was coming before glaring back at Natsu who was giving me his famous puppy dog eyes. I felt my argument weakening, and I was about to give in when I felt a dangerous aura coming from the flame-headed girl.

"Natsu, I recommend that you leave Lucy's house RIGHT NOW or else you shall have to face the wrath of the devil!" I swear I saw flames burning in Devilily's eyes when she yelled that while cracking her knuckles. Natsu quickly nodded his head before sprinting to the window.

"See you tomorrow, Luce!" He said before jumping out the window.

"Use the door, Idiot!" I shouted at him before mouthing a thank you to Devi while getting up to answer the door. When I opened the door, I was greeted by Levy-chan tackling me to the floor. I looked at the other girls in the doorway who all seemed to be stifling laughter.

"Lu-chan what took you so long to answer the door?!" She yelled at me and I was glancing nervously around to come up with an excuse since I don't want to tell them that Natsu was here. I would get teased to no end. Thankfully, someone saved me from that complete embarrassment.

"We apologize; we were all taking care of a tough problem that needed to be cleared up before anyone came over." Deoxies said behind me while wiping her brow with the back of her one hand while the other held a glass of water. Mira raised a questionable brow at us. Uh oh, I know that look. It means that she's scheming something.

"Did this problem happen to include an intruding boy?" She asked in a polite tone while entering the house, but I knew that she was actually trying to see if she could involve her matchmaking ways. All of the rest of the girls were giggling and I was starting to get nervous. Should we tell them the truth that Natsu was here? Thankfully, Deox-chan had answered in my stead, again.

"No, we accidently spilled flour all over Lucy's kitchen when we were trying to prepare snacks. Would you like to come and see? Devi should still be cleaning it up." Deox-chan elucidated while beginning to walk off towards my kitchen I quickly got up to follow her with the rest of the girls in tow. When I was walking right next to Deoxies, I whispered my question in her ear.

"What are you doing? There isn't a spill in the kitchen!" She turned to me with a mischievous glint in her multi-colored eyes.

"Are you sure, Lucy-san?" I gulped in realization. Deox-chan already knew that I would need assistance with the girls, and planned an excuse. She would be a very powerful enemy, thank Mavis that she joined our guild and I became friends with her!

When we arrived at the kitchen, I wanted to gape in shock, but that would ruin the charade, so I just stared wide-eyed. Devi's back was to us and her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail she looked to be just getting up off the floor. The counters near her were slightly covered with baking flour as well as some of the cabinets. If this had been other circumstances, I would've collapsed from seeing my clean kitchen covered in white powder, but Deox's idea had been ingenious! The girls stood awestruck at the sight of my kitchen before regaining composure.

"Well, it seems you guys were telling the truth, so we'll help with the cleaning so we can all start the sleepover quicker!" Levy-chan said before all of the girls started grabbing washcloths and began wiping counters and cabinets. I looked over at Deox-chan in gratitude; she noticed at gave me a smile back before joining in with the cleaning. In less than a half-an-hour we had finished cleaning the kitchen and the oven dinged. I looked over at Deox-chan and she looked just as surprised as I was.

"Lucy, what's in the oven?" Erza asked in a slightly demanding yet hopeful tone. Maybe she's hoping for some cake?

"I baked a cake, why?" I looked over to the person who said it and my eyes widened in shock for the umpteenth time today. Devi had said it while grabbing it out of the oven. I could tell that it was a regular baked cake, but what type I had no idea. "You guys can get started with the sleep-over, I'm just going to put on the finishing touches." Deox-chan nodded very quickly before ushering us all out of the kitchen. We went to my bedroom and sat on the floor with blankets covering our shoulders and our bags up against one wall. I decided to voice the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Deox-chan, can Devi cook?" She smiled at looked at all the girls.

"Yes, she's the most amazing chef that I know, but she's also one of the most gluttonous." Deox-chan spoke the last part while scratching her cheek in nervousness and all of us laughed.

"So, Deoxies, why did we all forget about you after you left?" Lisanna asked and the said girl glanced away from us in sadness.

"I knew that the pursuers were going to stop by the guild, and that they were going to ask questions. I didn't want you guys to get hurt because they could tell if you're lying, and if you refused to tell them, they'd torture you. If I erased all of your memory of me, then they wouldn't be able to hurt you since you'd be telling the truth in saying that you don't know me. However, the spell would wear-off when you saw me again, so today." All of us had tears in the corners of our eyes. It was so touching how much Deox-chan cared about us.

"Juvia thinks that it was very kind of Deoxies-chan to think about our well-being, but Juvia wonders how Deoxies-chan was able to erase all of our memories, including Master, when she was so young." The water mage said and we all nodded in agreement. Deox-chan was about to reply when Devi walked into the room with a platter covered with a cloche balancing on her right hand.

"That question shall be answered tomorrow along with our group's different magic types. Now, who wants cake?" Erza was immediately up and that was the end of the discussion. When Devi removed the cloche while setting the tray down on the coffee table, we all stared in awe.

The bottom of the cake was a moist chocolate cake that looked so delectable, the middle consisted of a three layered cheesecake going from dark chocolate to milk chocolate and finally to white chocolate, and lastly, in between the two types of cake was a thick layer of what looked like heavenly chocolate frosting. Erza was the first to take a piece (and it was pretty big) and she was dead silent when she tasted it. We all stared at the re-quip mage as tears started spilling out of her eyes.

"This cake is so-o-o-o good!" She yelled in pure happiness and we all sweat dropped. I took a forkful of my piece and put it in my mouth. The flavor exploded as soon as it touched my tongue. The chocolate cake bottom dissipated in my mouth by spreading its deep, delectable flavor. The cheesecake part melted in richness with each layer taking its turn of having the dominant flavor while the frosting was perfectly sweet, but not overly so to make a perfect harmony with the other layers. I felt tears of joy running down my cheeks and I looked around to see everyone else having the same reaction. I looked at Devi to tell her how good it was when I saw her with a disapproving look on her face as she ate her piece.

"W-what's wrong, Devilily-san?" Wendy asked in a polite voice and Devi looked up at her.

"The chocolate cake is a bit too moist, should've left it in the oven for another minute. What?" We were all, including Deox-chan, staring at Devi in shock. This cake was the most amazing thing I've ever tasted, and she's criticizing it?! What is Devi a perfectionist when it comes to her delicious creations? We all look to Deox-chan for a clarification who is slowly recovering from shock.

"Well, I sort of knew that Devi likes her cooking creations to be very well done, but I never knew she was OCD when it came to them. Maybe that's why she yells at people who enter her kitchen…" Deox-chan mumbled the last part so I barely caught it. We all finished our slices in silence due to the fact that no one knew what to say after that recent discovery.

We put the plates into the dishwasher before returning. It was now about 8:45, so we still had lots of time. All of the girls, me included, started describing Fairy Tail's adventures after Deox-chan left, which she didn't seem so surprised about. After we had finished all of our stories, Deox-chan started telling hers with all of her friends and Devilily interjected with any missed details every once in a while. It was incredible to hear what the five of them accomplished in seven years, and also saddening at times.

After we had heard each other stories, Mira clapped her hands and had sparkles in her bright blue eyes. Uh-oh, I know this look, she has something involved with romance up her sleeves. I gulped down my slowly rising fear and noticed Levy-chan, Wendy, and Juvia doing the same. We all know the look, and if anyone else recognized it, they weren't reacting to it.

"How about we play 'Truth or Dare' since no sleepover with girls is complete without it!" Mira suggested (more like demanded) and the majority of us groaned. Erza and Deox-chan, on the other hand, nodded in agreement. When I glanced over at Devi, her left eye was closed (and I can't see her right one) and her arms were crossed in a manner that said "I don't care." It was then, that I knew we had lost. Let the torture commence.

We all decided to get comfortable by laying out our sleeping bags and sitting on them. It was cool to see how the different designs on the sleeping bags portrayed the person who brought them. Levy had a sleeping bag that had different famous phrases from literature on it, Juvia's sleeping bag had waves of an ocean as well as ice chunks, Erza's had- My thoughts were interrupted when Mira cleared her throat.

"Since I came up with the idea, I'll ask the question first. So, Levy, truth or dare?" Poor Levy-chan, I feel bad for her being the first person to feel the "matchmaker's wrath." She gulped heavily while weighing her options.

"T-truth?" The petite bookworm stuttered in a quiet voice that sounded more like a question than an answer, not that I blame her. I saw Mira smirk in triumph.

"Is it true that at the Grand Magic Games you wanted Gajeel to sweep you away during the wedding dress part of my battle versus Jenny?" Levy-chan's face first paled before exploding into a red color that put Erza's hair color to shame. I gave Levy-chan a sympathetic look since everyone knew what it was like to be the Demon Matchmaker's victim.

"C-can I have a different question?" Levy asked and Mira shook her head. Levy sighed before whispering something that was almost incoherent. "Yes…" I heard Mira and Lisanna squeal, yeesh those two are alike. I looked over and saw Deox-chan staring in shock.

"Levy-san, I had no idea that you liked Gajeel-san!" We all laughed, except Devi, while Levy-chan's face turned redder. She was shouting "it's not like that," but we all knew otherwise. Our laughing fit was interrupted by Levy-chan continuing the game.

"J-Juvia, dare or dare?" Juvia looked at Levy-chan in confusion.

"Isn't the question for Juvia supposed to be 'truth or dare'?" Levy-chan did this on purpose, and I saw an evil glint in her eyes.

"Nope, since we all know about you're undying love for Gray, so dare or dare?" It was true, and it wasn't like Juvia was trying to hide it. After all, she has quixotic daydreams about her and Gray every day while stalking him basically everywhere. Juvia had a small blush appearing on her cheeks while saying her only option of dare. Levy-chan got a malicious grin on her face, and I felt a tremor down my spine. "Okay then, tomorrow, you'll have to give Gray a peck on the cheek in front of everyone in this room." Levy-chan said, Mira and Lisanna squealed, Erza and Deox-chan nodded, Wendy blushed, Devi was…emotionless, and Juvia's mind was off Mavis-knows-where while stuttering "k-kiss with G-Gray-sama?!" I sighed at everyone before laughing. After several minutes, everyone regained their composure, if they had lost it in the first place, and Juvia continued on with the game.

"Erza-san, truth or dare?" Juvia asked and we all gave her a shocked look. She's brave enough to ask Erza the question! Erza thought about this for a second before replying.

"I'll take a dare." What will Juvia do? Jellal's whereabouts are currently unknown since the Magic Council is still undecided of whether or not to free Jellal of his crimes, and Fairy Tail, as well as some other individuals, vouched for him. Well, Crime Sorcerie has stopped into Fairy Tail from time to time, but their visits are erratic and it is unknown when they'll next stop by.

"Tomorrow, at the guild, you will yell your eternal love for Jellal-san in front of everyone here, as well as anyone else." Erza's face went as red as her hair, and I tried to stifle my laughter. Erza began shaking poor Wendy while trying to come up with excuses.

"W-why does it have to be Jellal?!" We all answered, including Devi, Erza's question.

"Because you love Jellal!" Erza's blush deepened and it was now darker than her hair. Then her head shot up and was looking pointedly at the two new members.

"How do you two know about Jellal?" The two females exchanged stares. Deox-chan sighed before her multi-colored gaze settled on Titania's figure.

"Based on how you described your adventures, in which some of them included Jellal, as well as some…outside information, we were able to infer that you had a special affection for him." The multi-colored hair girl said with a slight nervous smile adorning her facial features. I blinked in surprise. Deox-chan must really know how to collect and analyze data really well, and for the second time today, I'm grateful that she's my friend. A coughing noise broke me from my thoughts and I looked at Erza who had ruined the silence.

"To continue on with this game: Deoxies, Truth or Dare?" We all turned our attention to the returned mage who was blinking her rainbow colored eyes in surprise before smiling.

"Since we've had a couple of dares recently, I think I'll go with Truth." Out of the corner of my eyes, I swear I saw Mira smirk along with several other girls within the circle. It would seem that they had been waiting for an opportunity to find out more about Deox-chan's life. I frowned slightly in thought, Deox-chan had predicted that I'd need assistance with the girls in order to cover up our little "problem," so wouldn't she have already predicted the outcomes of the two decisions? If so, she must believe that Truth was the safest route. I glanced over at Devi who had her left eye closed and a small (almost unnoticeable) smirk on her lips.

"Very well, Deox, do you have special feelings towards anyone within your traveling group of companions?" Erza asked and I shivered at the evil look she was giving Deox-chan. When I looked over at the said girl, she seemed to be concealing a smile.

"No." she stated simply which made all of us gasp, except Devi who's eye had snapped open and was now glaring at the multi-colored girl.

"Deoxies that's a lie and we both know it." Devilily said with certainty, and Deox-chan looked back at her with her own glare.

"No, it's not. I technically do not like either Castor or Cody _that_ way; therefore, out of the traveling group of companions, as Erza-san put it, I don't have 'special feelings' for any of them."

"It's true, that you see Thunder Mouth and Space Geek as brothers, but I wasn't referring to them." Devi said with a knowing gleam in her ruby red eye. I glanced over at Deox-chan who had slight blush lighting up her cheeks now. Throughout this entire conversation, everyone's gaze had been traveling back and forth between the two new members with excitement. Wendy let out a gasp and we all turned towards her.

"Deoxies-san, Devilily-san couldn't be referring to one of the girls within your group, could she?" All of our eyes widened in shock. I hadn't thought of it that way, but didn't Erza say "among you're group of companions" which isn't referring to any specific gender? If so, then it's obvious that the two girls weren't referring to any other female within their group. So, who…?

"WHAT?! No, no, no, no, no, NO! You misread us completely! I am _definitely_ NOT attracted to any people of the same gender!" Deox-chan said with gestures that clearly stated that she was in denying Wendy's statement. I peered over at Devi and saw her eye closed and a small trickle of blood coming off her lip since she was probably biting it very hard in order not to blow up on Wendy. I gave a small smile, so the red head does have a nice side.

"So do you have someone that you like within your group, Deox-chan?" Mira asked with a mischievous smirk dancing on her lips. It would seem that the match-making demon has now caught interest in Deox-chan's love life. Poor her. The blush on her cheeks had now become more dominant and all of the girls were smirking.

"N-no! I have no attraction to anyone within my group." I heard a scoff and immediately knew that it came from the supposed devil.

"Quit lying, Deox." Deox-chan turned to glare at the flame-head.

"Am not, and how do we know that you're not lying, _Devilily_?" I gulped in fear. Deox-chan had said that with such malice that I would've been in a puddle of sweat if I was Devilily, yet she was taking it nonchalantly as if Deox-chan's tone hadn't fazed her at all.

"Those two are scary, I'm _really_ glad that they joined our guild now." Levy-chan, who was sitting on my left while Deox-chan was sitting on my right, whispered in my ear and I immediately nodded in agreement.

"Deoxies, you know me, I swore to never lie within my entire life, and I can tell if people are." Devi stated monotonously, and just as Deox-chan was about to retort back, Lisanna butted in.

"Devilily, could you tell us who Deox may have attraction to?" Oh Lisanna, you are so much like your sister it is almost too much to bear.

"I think that you all would've preferred if the girl herself had told you, but since she's being too much of a coward, I shall endarken you." We all nodded, but stopped abruptly. Did she just say "endarken" and not "enlighten"? I looked to Deox-chan for her to elucidate, but she was frozen stiff with shock.

"Um, Devilily-san, not to be rude, but did you mean 'enlighten' instead of 'endarken?'" Juvia said, and I almost had tears welling in my eyes at her courage. Devilily blinked at her blankly.

"No, since I cannot 'enlighten' anyone. Never mind, don't ask. Anyways the guy that Deox has a crush on is her chi-," She started before a hand was slapped onto her mouth. It would seem that Deox-chan didn't want Devi saying anything.

"Who might Chi be, Deoxies?" Mirajane asked innocently which made Erza, Deox-chan, Devi, Juvia, Wendy, and I sweat drop. It was obvious that "Chi" wasn't the guy's name. Devilily managed to muscle Deox-chan off her mouth, and speak one sentence that made all of us girls squeal.

"Chi isn't anyone, but Deoxies is in love with her childhood friend. That's all I'm going to tell you." Deox-chan gave a murderous glare towards Devi, but she ignored it. I half expected Deox-chan to ask Devi the question for the game, but she ended up choosing someone different.

"Wendy-chan, would you please choose Truth or Dare?" Deox-chan asked which made all of us come out of la-la land of imagination of who could Deox-chan's childhood friend be. All eyes were on the long-haired bluenette as she became flustered.

"Um, I'm n-not quite sure, so I think I'll take Dare?" Wendy squeaked quietly and hesitantly, not that I blame her because the aura that Deox-chan radiated was malicious.

"Fine, then for the entire day tomorrow you'll be my little helper, got it?" To say that I wasn't shocked at Deox-chan's Dare, would be a lie. Usually, during Truth or Dare games the concept of love is the basic theme, especially with females. I glanced over at how the demon matchmaker was faring and saw that she was shell-shocked.

"But, but, you didn't do anything that involved romance, Deoxies." Mira managed and Deox-chan crossed her arms across her chest stubbornly.

"I don't care." Gosh, she sounded just like Erza during Pandemonium event of the Grand Magic Tournament. I think she was hanging out with her too much when she was younger.

"Juvia thinks that we should continue the game so that we can start the movie marathon." Juvia said while inserting her typical third person. I must concur, since I was looking forward to some of the movies that had been selected.

"Very well, Wendy-chan, please ask someone the question." Mira suggested in a flat, depressed tone while Wendy nodded her head.

"Okay, um, Lisanna-san, Truth or Dare?" Wendy asked tentatively after glancing over the remaining girls who hadn't gone. Lisanna put a finger to her chin while looking at the ceiling in thought.

"I think that I'll take Truth." Lisanna said while grinning, and Wendy nodded.

"Um, Lisanna-san, do you have special feelings for Natsu-san?" The sky-dragon slayer asked and I felt my breath hitch unconsciously. I don't know why it did, since I feel nothing for Natsu other than being best friends, but I felt myself anxiously waiting for the younger take-over mage's response. She smiled broadly before answering.

"No, I don't like Natsu that way." As soon as she said that I felt the breath I had been holding get exhaled slowly. Again, I have no idea why I had been holding my breath in the first place. Wendy nodded at her answer and Lisanna looked at all of the girls before a malicious smirk appeared on her features when her gaze rested on the quiet flame-head. "Devilily, what do you say to Truth or Dare?" The said girl opened her ruby-red left eye and suspiciously (or what seemed suspiciously since I can't exactly tell since she's emotionless) looked at Lisanna.

"Dare." The word was stated with such force that it made me gulp. How can this girl be so confident when she's up against the demon matchmaker's little sister? I'd be very nervous right now if I were her. The questioner got up and whispered something in Deox-chan's ear before the dark rainbow-head whispered something back and Lisanna took her seat again with a playful smirk on her lips.

"Devilily, I dare you to not have a single fight with Castor tomorrow for a full twenty-four hours starting as soon as you wake up tomorrow." The glare that Devi gave Lisanna made even the great Titania shiver slightly.

"You do realize that tomorrow never comes, right?" Devilily retorted back at the new matchmaker (as I am beginning to call Lisanna) while crossing her arms. Huh, I never thought about that, but technically tomorrow doesn't ever come, does it? By the time it's "tomorrow" it's already "today." The short silver-ish white head was turning a bit red with fury.

"Fine then for the entire course of twenty-four hours starting on October 16th, X791 as soon as you wake up, got it?!" The curly flame-head nodded before turning her attention directly upon me. I gulped in fear and noticed that everyone was giving me pitiful looks of sympathy. Gosh, why did Devi have to pick me?

"Lucy, pick your poison, Truth or Dare?" The way she said that sent chills down my spine. I glanced over at Erza and Deoxies, and saw that they were masking a terrified look as well while the rest of the girls clearly showed their terror. Is this new girl a sadistic devil or something?

"I think I'll choose Dare?" I tentatively answered and what happened next made my heart stop beating and go to my throat. Devi's left eye glinted evilly in the light and the smirk on her face was so mischievous and cruel looking that my whole skeletal system rattled. I peered over to Deox-chan and saw that she had blanched. Everyone else seemed to be leaning away from Devi in fear since she was emitting a malicious aura. I'm officially doomed for eternity.

"Three days from today, I dare you to ask Natsu to go shopping with you for the whole day, and while you're out, you must get him whatever he desires if he asks, except for cutting your…trip short." My jaw dropped and I felt my eyes widen. _This_ was my dare? I love shopping, and Natsu could hold my bags, but I don't have any money, and I highly doubt that Natsu will agree to go. He may be idiotically dense, but he isn't _that_ stupid.

"But I don't have any money." I stated and Devi's smirk broadened.

"I think we can cover that." I gulped, usually I'd be all gun-ho for a shopping spree where I wouldn't have to pay with my money, but this is Devilily, and from what I've seen, she's freaking evil.

"Well, I doubt that Natsu will go along with this."

"Don't worry, we'll take care of that as well." She said while glancing over at Mira. The two seemed to have a silent conversation since Mira immediately smirked as well. I'm not looking forward to this shopping trip.

I needed to change to topic off of me and onto someone else, but who? Who hasn't been asked _the question_? Wait, Mira only _asked_ it to Levy, but she's never been asked it herself, right? I looked towards Mira with an evil glint in my chocolate-brown orbs, oh how revenge is sometimes so sweet.

"Mirajane, I believe that it's your turn, so Truth or Dare?" I inquired in a false sweet and polite tone and I noticed her slight shiver.

"Truth, I think?" I saw Levy shaking her head at this reply, and I raised one of my eyebrows in question.

"No, I don't accept that, especially after the ridicule you put me through. Lucy, she'll take Dare, and it better be good." Levy exclaimed and all of the girls in the room who have been a "target" for the "matchmaker" were all nodding their heads in unison. Mira had a horrified look and just as I was about to give in to pity, Deox-chan nudged me. I shook my head to rid my mind of such sympathetic thoughts.

"Alright, Dare it is. Mira, I dare you for this entire week to not meddle into any romantic affairs of anyone whether it be directly or indirectly, got that?" The color drained off her face and I swear I saw something shatter in her eyes. The majority of the other girls were silently applauding or cheering (Devi wasn't included). I sat there with worry and feat written across my features. I knew Mira liked being the matchmaker, but I didn't think the dare would affect her like _this_. She'll so get me back later after the week's over. Fortunately, I had a savior.

"Um, since the game is now over, how about we watch some movies?" Wendy suggested and the entire mood died down into an agreement while Mira had recovered from her stupor and got a malicious smile on her face.

"Good idea, Wendy. How about we all watch some horror movies?" Everyone was nodding and discussing various scary movies that we should watch. Meanwhile, my body froze. I was _deathly_ afraid of horror movies. Sometimes, when Natsu came over, we'd watch one and I'd get so scared that I squeeze him way too hard that he lost all feeling in his arm or be unable to breathe. Not fun for either of us. It turns out that Mira won't be waiting to get me back at the end of the week, she was doing it now, and I only had a few moments left before I died inside.

**-Normal POV-**

The rest of the night continued without a hitch. Lucy was so scared of the movie that she latched onto Deoxies and didn't let go until Deox gave pleading eyes signaling that she couldn't breathe to Erza who then forcibly removed the terrified blond. By the time that the group of girls had watched three movies, one horror, another action/comedy, and lastly a drama, it was about three o'clock in the morning and everybody was sleeping like the dead.

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><p><strong>-4:00 am, Lucy's POV-<strong>

I groaned as I slowly woke up. I looked around the room and saw that a nearby clock read 4:00 am, too early. I glanced at the other girls and noticed that they were all asleep except for Deox-chan. I swiveled my head to look around the room as my eyes adjusted to the gloom. It was then, that I noticed, a person leaning out my window with long, wavy, dark hair.

I silently slipped out of my sleeping bag and crept over to the girl who was awake. I didn't want to startle her, but I never got the chance since she spoke in a soft whisper.

"I've always loved gazing at the stars at night; how about you, Lucy-san?" I stared at Deox-chan for a moment before answering. Her multi-colored eyes seemed to have a lost and wistful look to them.

"I like looking at them as well, especially since it helps me feel closer to my celestial spirit friends and my mother." She nodded quietly before speaking again.

"When I was younger, before I first came to Fairy Tail, my childhood friend, Guardian, and I would all stay up late to gaze at the starry sky while my Guardian told us stories. It was a peaceful and pleasant time." She seemed to get a far-off look in her eyes again, and I couldn't help but wonder who those two people are. I remember Deox-chan mentioning when she was ten that her Guardian had disappeared, but what about her childhood friend?

"What happened to your childhood friend?" I asked in a hushed tone. Deox-chan's eyes seemed to dim when I asked this, and I began to feel sorry I asked. Just as I was about to say that she didn't have to answer, Deox-chan spoke up.

"He disappeared when I was eight in order to go on a journey alone. I haven't seen or heard from him since." I felt a stray tear come to my eye. She must've been so lonely and worried from the manner that she spoke in.

"I hope you're able to meet him again." I saw her slowly nod out of the corner of my eye.

"I hope so, too." After a few minutes of comfortable silence, I decided to speak up again.

"It seems like we should follow everyone else's example and go to sleep." Deox-chan turned to look at everyone before replying.

"Well, everyone except for Devi." I viewed the said girl and saw her back to us in what looked a peaceful sleep. I raised a questioning eyebrow at Deox-chan who sighed before answering my unspoken question.

"Devi never has a peaceful slumber, she always has nightmares. Therefore, for her to be sleeping so calmly like that means she's pretending to be asleep, but is actually awake and is probably thinking hard about something. We'll explain everything tomorrow, so let's get a good night's rest. Goodnight." She said before creeping silently to her sleeping bag and falling fast asleep. I soon followed her example.

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><p><strong>AN: And that's it for chapter two! So many mysterious yet to be unveiled but hinted at. Next chapter, the dares to be completed as well as the magic to be announced! As always, any and all reviews are appreciated and constructive criticism is welcome. I thank you all for reading and hoped you enjoyed it! ;)<strong>


	4. Chapter 3: The Dares & The Magic

**AN: I'm back, everyone with chapter three! I know that this is a fairly longer chapter, but there was so much information that I couldn't find a break! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail, which belongs to Hiro Mashima**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 3: The Dares &amp; The Magic<span>**

**-Morning, 10:00 am, Normal POV-**

All the girls at the sleepover groggily work up around ten in order to get the day started. Devilily insisted that she'd make breakfast, since she apparently has OCD when it comes to food, which Lucy reluctantly agreed to let her. Mira and Lisanna took a quick bite before exiting to the guild to work as bar waitresses. The rest of the girls helped clean-up the sleeping area and set-up the breakfast table. Around noon all of the girls were ready to leave for the guild and, unfortunately for some, complete their dares.

The guild was as rowdy as usual when the girls kicked the door open with a very tremendous bang. The girls parted and the new members followed Deoxies outside the guild when she signaled for them to follow. Everyone else tried to press their ears to the door of where the five left in order to eavesdrop on the newbies' conversation. Regrettably for them, the group had erected a sound-proof barrier that disabled any eavesdropping.

"We're going to tell the guild our magic today, no ifs, ands, or buts!" Deoxies declared to the group who just nodded in agreement.

"Castor and I figured you'd say that last night." Cody said in his usual polite manner.

"Although I recommend us to be prepared in case some of the members challenge us to a fight." Devi stated in a monotonous and bored voice. The group nodded once again before Angelica spoke up.

"What time should we tell everyone our magic?"

"After I tell the Master that we are, so he can gain everyone's attention." Everyone nodded again and started to disband sensing that this meeting was over. Deoxies caught Castor's shoulder before he could walk away before signaling to the others that they should go on ahead. Devi narrowed her left eye in suspicion before slowly walking back into the guild. Castor turned to Deox after Devi had disappeared.

"What?" He asked a bit rudely, but Deox ignored his tone.

"I'd thought I'd tell you something intriguing about last night." Castor raised an eyebrow in question while putting his hands up defensively.

"Look, not to be mean, but I don't want to hear, let alone help, you with anything drama related." Deoxies rolled her multi-colored eyes at this.

"I know that you hate drama and romance stuff, and it isn't about that. Before you can say anything, Devi last night was dared to not get into any fights with you today, I'd just thought I'd let you know." Deoxies explained before walking inside leaving Castor with a mischievous glint in his dark gray eyes.

**-1:00 pm-**

The Master of Fairy Tail stepped onto the stage in the guildhall with Deox, Devi, Castor, Ange, and Cody beside him. Some of the other members noticed this and stopped what they were doing; however, the majority was still wrapped up in their brawl. Master cleared his throat, a few more stopped to look at the stage. Master tried again, this time louder, a few more stopped, now only Natsu, Gajeel, Gray, and Elfman were left in the brawl. Master became very irritated and grew using his magic while yelling in a giant voice,

"WOULD YOU BRATS STOP FIGHTING FOR A FEW MINUTES!?" The four immediately stopped fighting and mimicked Happy's "Aye Sir!" Master cleared his throat once more while shrinking back to his regular height.

"The new members would like to tell all you brats something, so listen up!" He announced while looking directly at the usual troublemakers (aka Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel). He gestured for Deoxies to step forward and to take over.

"Well, first off, we'd like to thank you for making us feel at home here even though were new and very different." There was some cheering which made Deox smile as well as most of the group on stage.

"Anyways, the main reason that we're up here is because we'd like to officially tell you what our magic is since we didn't get a chance to yesterday." She summed up and there was some clapping while Deoxies stepped back and allowed Cody to step up to the crowd. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"Hello minna-san, as you all know, my name is Cody. My domain of magic is Time, Space, but, more specifically, Dimensional. I'm often referred to as the Dimensional One." He finished speaking while everyone was left in utter silence. They had no idea that he had _that_ type of magic ability. Angelica came bounding forward and spoke in a very cheery voice.

"Hi, everybody! You already know me as Ange, but my magic is Heaven's magic, and I'm called the Blessed One!" Silence thickened upon the crowd as Castor stride forward and Angelica skipped back to her place besides Cody.

"Yo, I'm Castor, and my magic is officially called Worldly and Living magic, but I'm called the Worldly One." Devilily and Castor switched places while there were murmured discussion echoing through the crowd. Everyone was shocked at the magic types so far.

"I'm Devi, my magic is Hell's magic, and I'm known as the Cursed One." Devilily walked away and high-fived Deoxies while she stepped advancing to announce her magic.

"Well, I'm Deox and I'm called the Universal Master, but my magic is technically the Universal Dragon Slayer magic." Several questions tore from everyone's throats after Deoxies finished, and the shell-shocked master quickly recovered from his stupor to silence everyone. He kept glancing back at the five new members who had all struck various comfortable poses. Cody had his arm around Ange who was twiddling a piece of her sky-blue hair in her fingers, Castor was leaning back against a wall with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed liked he didn't care about anything that was transpiring, Devi had her arms crossed and her eyes were closed similar to Castor, and Deox had one hand on her hips while the other one was tugging on her one braid.

**-Lucy's POV-**

I stood in the middle of the hall with one hand covering my mouth while my chocolate-brown eyes were wide. I had read about those magics somewhere, but I couldn't recall all of the details, but apparently those magics were very rare, but very powerful. It's no wonder Deox-chan knew so much since there's a saying that "the Universe knows all" and if her magic is what I think it is, she's really powerful.

**-Erza's POV-**

I stood against a wall of the guild while visibly shaking with wide eyes. Their magic is impressive; it is no wonder that Deoxies was being pursued at such a young age with that type of magic. It makes me wonder just what are these peoples' pasts, and how did they come into possession of those powerful magic types?

**-Natsu's POV-**

I don't understand most of the magic types, but I can comprehend that they are all powerful. To think that Deox was a Dragon Slayer as well, I wonder how strong she and her friends are! Maybe I should challenge them to a fight…

**-Gray's POV-**

I didn't realize that Deoxies was a Dragon Slayer, but the one that concerns me the most is Devilily's magic. Hell & Cursed…just what does that type of magic involve? Does it involve creatures born from Hell, for example, demons?

**-Happy's POV-**

Those are some strange magic types. I wonder how Natsu will do against them since I can already tell that he wants to fight at least one of them. I hope that he doesn't underestimate them and get seriously injured. I wonder if any of their magics involve fish…

**-Master Makarov's POV-**

Dimensions…Heaven…World…Hell…and Universal Dragon Slayer, what fearsome magics, but I wonder how they came to possess such ancient but powerful magic?

**-Deoxies's POV-**

There was a hubbub of noise within the guild after I had announced my magic. Master was trying to calm them all down, and I inwardly sighed while tugging on my braid. It was at these moments that I kind of wished my childhood friend was still here, he'd be able to calm them all down with his magic, especially if he's improved over the years. I so miss him, but there's no time for sentimentalities.

I stepped forward and placed one of my hands on Master's shoulder to tell him that I would take over. He nodded in understanding and I took a deep breath with my multi-colored eyes closed. I imagined the power of the Universal dragon welling inside of and how massive its roar is. My eyes snapped open and I let out a dragon's roar that could be heard in, and shake, the very core of the Universe. All noise within the guild ceased, luckily I managed to diminish my magic before the growl. I needed that stress reliever. I cleared my throat before speaking to the entire guild again.

"I understand that you all must have numerous questions for us, but if you all yell them at once, we cannot answer them." I declared in my leader-voice. Everyone glanced at each other before a smaller, shy voice spoke up.

"Um, Deox-san, what generation of Dragon-Slayer are you?" Wendy-chan asked and a soft smile appeared on my face.

"I am a first generation Dragon-Slayer." Mummers swept through the crowd like a tidal wave, and I swear I heard someone shout that Fairy Tail now has five dragon slayers in an excited tone. I guess that person was including second generation Laxus-san as well.

"Wait that means you were taught by a Dragon, right?" Gajeel-san gruffly questioned and I answered this inquiry while nodding my head.

"Yes, that is correct. My dragon's name was Novaxy, and yes, she was my guardian that disappeared." Natsu-san maneuvered through the crowed in order to be closer with Lucy-san watching him before following. My focus returned to Natsu-san when he spoke.

"So that means that your dragon disappeared like the rest of ours."

"Yes."

"But, when you were ten, it had been several years since the rest of our dragons had vanished."

"Yes."

"Do you know where the dragons are?" I hesitated. My limitations disable me from telling others the secrets of dragons, but I do not want to tell a lie to my new family.

"It is true that my dragon appeared while your dragons were gone, but that was because of me. Novaxy needed to train me to better use my Universal magic, so she came to Earthland secretively in order to train me. However, she couldn't stay forever which is why she disappeared. Novaxy is using her magic to prevent me from tracking her, and I don't know where the dragons' homes are located." This was all true; I don't know where the dragons' homes are located since they also use their magic to conceal themselves from my knowledge. I glanced around and saw all three other dragon-slayers, who had dragons, frown. I hate it when they look sad. "But, once a year I see some of the dragons that appear for the annual Universal Gathering. No, I cannot take anyone with me." My last sentence was stated in a firm tone which meant that the discussion was over. The dragon-slayers seemed dissatisfied with this, but hesitantly agreed by remaining silent.

A new face stepped forth from the crowd, it was Gray-san, and he seemed to be looking directly at Devilily. I peered over at the female, and she seemed to have noticed that the Ice-Maker wizard was going to ask her something.

"You said that your magic was Hell magic, right?" Gray-san asked in a stern tone, Devi nodded slowly which allowed for Gray-san to continue. "What does that magic include, exactly?" Devi narrowed her left eye in suspicion like she was contemplating the perfect answer.

"It is a broad magic that enables me to have dominance over anything and everything related to Hell, what specifically are you looking for?" I studied both of them and realized that Devi probably already knew what Gray-san wanted to know, she was just waiting for him to say it himself.

"I would like to know if you have any information on the black-wizard Zeref, as well as his book and his demons." Their hard gazes were locked. Devi must've been trying to figure out some stuff that she's researched in the past.

"Black magic is known as a combination between curse and dark magic that deals with summoning, cursing, and damning hellish-beings as well as living things. The wizard, Zeref, is known as a thorn in Hell's side since his type of magic disrupts the natural balance of hell by creating his own powerful demons as well as cursed items. He is soiling Hell's reputation which causes for anger amongst the hierarchal figures within Hell. He is a powerful wizard, and, unfortunately, Hell cannot do anything about it since they are unable to punish those who are still living; therefore have not been condemned to hell, yet. That is all I know about him based on the data collected thus far." Uneasiness washed over the guild, and I could tell that no one liked this news. Gray-san pressed Devilily for more answers.

"What about the Book of Zeref?" I saw Devi's mind reeling at this inquiry as she murmured, "Book of Zeref…" to herself. Suddenly, her left eye widened and she began rummaging through her bag. Eventually, she pulled out an ancient looking book with its parchment papers frayed and the cover torn a bit. She flipped through the book at a speed that would've made a speed-reading glasses look in slow motion. She stopped at a page within the late-middle of the book and her eyes scanned the page, widening a fraction with every second spent reading. She abruptly slammed the book closed with anger clearly burning in her ruby-red eye.

"Damn that bastard to an eternity of Punishment." The guild heard her speak through gritted teeth. I think that she's just a little pissed, just a little.

"What is it, Devs?" Castor asked, now seemingly interested in the conversation. I swear he was sleeping before. She looked directly at Gray-san, then at the rest of Team Natsu, to our group, then at Master, before addressing the entire guild.

"The Book of Zeref consists of writing about the different demons as well as black spells that Zeref has created or summoned, as well as a lot of information about them. It is illegal in Hell to have this kind of information for the public eye to view since it could lead to disaster if in the wrong hands. The book has never been to hell, which means that it's not under the regulation of Hell, and therefore can be on worlds freely. No wonder that evil lord-bastard was so pissed at the very mention of anything to do with Zeref." Devilily had mumbled the last part, but everyone with good hearing caught it. I'm guessing that by "evil lord-bastard" she means the Overlord, but I guess she just likes using insults towards him instead. It works for me.

I motioned for Devi that this was enough information, and she nodded at the silent signal. I don't want to scare the guild too much today. The conversation continued when Erza-san stepped forward and everyone gave a clear path to the front for her.

"What I want to know, is what skill each of you magics include." I arched an eyebrow in question before speaking.

"What do you mean by skill, Erza-san?"

"What I mean is your magic offensive, healing, defensive, et cetera." I nodded in understanding before letting the others in the group know that I'd answer this question for all of them.

"Well, Cody's magic is mostly defense-based since he can do a lot of deflections, alter time a bit, and teleport for escaping if need be. Angelica is mostly healing with a bit of defense. However, they both can use attack-type magic, but it's harder for them." Everyone nodded in understanding before I continued. "Castor and Devilily have more offensive-based magics, but they do know some defensive techniques if need be. I am a bit of both. I basically help out the front that needs the most assistance based on the opponent, but I do prefer being on the offensive side of a fight." Erza-san nodded, accepting these answers just when Natsu-san bounded to the front again with a renewed excitement in his eyes. Uh-oh.

"I want to fight one of you!" There was a unified face-palm slash sweat-drop from the entire guild including me and my friends. Of course Natsu-san would be the first to challenge one of us to a fight. I regarded my group; none of them seemed bursting out of their usual expressions to fight. I looked back at Natsu-san.

"Which one of us would you prefer to fight?" I inquired and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Any of the fighters would be fine, and even though I'd prefer to fight all of you, I don't think that'd be such a good idea." The guild, including myself, was shocked at this. Natsu-san actually thought through a battle? I looked around the guild after almost everyone had recovered from their stupor. A lot of people where glaring at Castor. They must want Natsu-san to fight him to get back at Castor's earlier rude attitude. I sighed, before setting my gaze directly on Castor. He, of course, noticed this and shrugged in response.

"Natsu, how about you fight Castor; if that's alright with both of you." I suggested, and the two guys locked hard gazes before replying.

"Sure, why not. How about the fight is at noon tomorrow so that we both get a good night's rest before hand as well as some prep time?" Castor answered while still looking at Natsu-san who was grinning broadly.

"Yosh, I'm all fired up!"

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><p><strong>-Later that Same Day, Normal POV-<strong>

After the new members had walked off stage after Natsu's challenge had been settled, the majority of the guild had decided that it was time for lunch. Since there was a giant splurge of members wanting to eat, Devi, Deox, and Lucy had decided to help Mira and Lisanna out with the cooking, which worked out really well. However, while Devilily was eating her meal, Castor had decided to take advantage of Deox's indirect suggestion by teasing the devil.

"Hey, Death Breath, that was a pretty good meal that you cooked, for a Puny Ember. I was surprised that you didn't blow up while cooking this, Flame Freak. But, then again, this isn't your kitchen, is it Bloody Cyclops? Or perhaps you were just too hungry to really care. After all, you are a Gluttonous Devil." While Castor was going through his list of insults towards Devi, the said girl was slowly crushing her silverware while biting hard on her lip, causing it to bleed, in order to prevent herself from retaliating.

All of the girls who were present at the slumber party were snickering silently from a distance while watching the scene. It would seem that the devil was keeping her dare. Devi, hearing the laughter with her incredible hearing, turned to glare at the girls while mouthing the words, "your turn" with a conniving, malevolent smirk on her lips. The girls gulped in extreme terror.

Wendy was already assisting Deoxies with the various, easy tasks that she had requested. The only reason that Deox told Wendy to be her little helper for the day was out of anger towards the girls as well as to get back by having no romance involved. Mira had a slight depressed aura lingering around her from her being unable to meddle with her matchmaking ways. Lucy had gone up to Natsu while he was eating and has asked if wanted to go on a shopping trip with her in two days, and that she would buy whatever he asked for while they were out. He was, at first, going to refuse since he knew what happens when Lucy goes shopping, but after noticing the evil glares from the females who were at the slumber party, he vigorously agreed.

The water mage as well as Titania had yet to complete their dares, and Juvia was slowly inching closer to Gray. All of the girls were tuned in on their conversation and were watching the scene from the corners of their eyes.

"G-Gray-s-sama?" Juvia stammered, but successfully got Gray's attention. He turned to look at her in order to let her know that he was listening to her.

"Yeah, Juvia?" Juvia's entire face exploded in a cherry-red coloring before she blurted her next sentence.

"Juvia loves Gray-sama!" She exclaimed while leaning in and kissing Gray on his cheek. The entire guild was watching this with open mouths, and Juvia immediately sprinted to the opposite corner of the guild to sulk and/or live in her fantasies. Nobody could tell which. Gray, on the other hand, was frozen solid, literally. The silence of the guild was broken by the most unsuspecting person.

"Does that mean that Juvia-san and Gray-san are going out?" Angelica asked in her innocent tone, and the entire guild fell to the floor (anime style) while Gray slowly thawed. Happy flew over to the still frozen ice mage and waved his paws in front of his eyes. After receiving no response from Gray, Happy uncapped a marker (that came out of nowhere) and commenced writing on the raven-head's face.

The entire guild, except Devi, burst out laughing when they saw Gray's face when Happy had finished writing on him. There were colored-in circles around Gray's eyes, a mustache, a goatee, and a giant "X" on his face. Happy was smiling, but his smile broadened when he heard a certain giggle from a white exceed. Charle was standing on one of the guild tables with her paw covering her mouth in a failing attempt to contain her laughter.

Happy immediately flew over to her with a fish wrapped in a big red bow in his paws. The guild stopped laughing in order to watch the scene. Happy presented Charle with the fish and she looked at it and back at Happy. A tense silence settled over the guild with the majority of the females all having hopeful sparkles in their eyes. Suddenly, a small blush flared on the white exceed's cheeks as she looked away from Happy.

"Well, I suppose that fish would be appropriate for my evening tea." Charle mumbled while taking the fish and Happy's eyes shining. The guild "awed" at the scene while Happy began flying around the guild while yelling "She accepted it! She accepted it!"

After a few more seconds of celebrating for Happy, all of the females who were at the slumber party turned their attention to Titania who visibly gulped. She knew what the looks meant; they were all waiting for her to complete her dare. Erza, never being one to back down from a challenge, walked to the front doors of the guild before turning to look back at the guild. Several of the girls tried to hush the males, but failed miserably until Erza shouted,

"WOULD YOU ALL BE QUIET FOR A FEW MINUTES, I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE, AND I'M ONLY GOING TO SAY IT ONCE, SO LISTEN UP!" Erza was answered with a chorus of "Aye" while all the males in the guild nodded their heads vigorously. Erza nodded in approval at this, and as she started speaking her next lines, many in the guild could see a blush rise on her cheeks.

"My announcement is: That I'm completely, utterly, eternally—" The doors of the guild started to swing open behind Erza, but if the re-quip mage noticed, she didn't acknowledge it since she continued talking. "—head over heels i-in l-l-love w-with J-J-J-Jellal-l." Erza had muttered the last part of her sentence, so the majority of the guild hadn't caught it. The guild doors were now fully open, and several of the females were grinning when they saw who was in the doorway.

"Erza, we didn't hear you! Say that last part again!" All of the girls, minus Devilily, screamed in unison and Erza shut her eyes while yelling the ending once more.

"I'M IN LOVE WITH JELLAL!" There was a collective, excited gasp in the guild, and Erza opened her eyes to see what the fuss was about. She noticed that everyone's eyes were darting back and forth between her and someone behind her. Erza slowly turned around, and who she saw made her face turn as red, or redder, than her hair while her heart stopped beating.

There stood a man in a dark-blue hooded cape with silver lining and silver, overlapping hearts going down the sleeves. Underneath, the man wore a dark-red shirt with white armor over it as well as navy pants with mid-calf black boots. His hair was some-what spikey medium-blue color, and his eyes were a darker green with a red tattoo above and below the right eye. The man was the one person Erza didn't want to have heard her just now. It was the person she had just confessed about: Jellal Fernandes, and he had heard her entire confession.

**-Erza's POV-**

My mind malfunctioned, I couldn't think, I couldn't move, I may not even be breathing. My heart had missed a few beats before beating wildly in my chest. My face felt like it was lit by Natsu's fire and I had forgotten to re-quip into my Fire-Empress armor. My brown eyes were wide with shock and my mouth was partly open. After a couple of minutes of my brain recovering from the initial shock, I was able to comprehend Jellal's situation. Jellal's face was so red that I couldn't see the tattoo on his right eye. His green eyes were wide and his mouth hung agape. He seemed to be paralyzed as well.

I noticed that Happy wasn't writing on either of our faces like he did to Gray. Smart cat, if he did, he'd be dead in a matter of seconds by both of us. However the entire guild was grinning like the idiots that they were, except for maybe Devi and Castor. I was jerked from my stupor when the famous line for these situations was spoken by the blue exceed.

"They l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-like each other!" My rage towards the cat jolted my senses enough for me to be able to move to strangle that damn exceed. An angry aura began emitting from my body as I turned and glared at the blue cat.

"HAP—!" I started yelling but was interrupted by a strong hand firmly grasping my wrist and dragging me out of the guild. I knew who it was before I even saw his face. Jellal took me behind the guild in a secluded place where neither of us could be seen. When he had stopped moving, I was able to recover myself enough to look at him. He had such a serious look in his eyes that it was difficult for a blush to not form on my face.

"Is what you said true?" I nodded my head, not trusting my voice to speak any words. He let out a sigh and ran one of his hands through his mop of blue hair. "Erza, I told you before that I—," I cut him off by gripping his wrist sternly and glaring straight into his eyes.

"That was a load of bullshit and we both know it." He looked me dead in the eyes while stating his next sentence in a harsher tone.

"Fine, but I cannot return your feelings since I don't like you the same way." I squeezed his wrist harder and saw him wince slightly.

"Stop lying to yourself, Jellal! You're not fooling anyone." He let out an exasperated sigh while getting a hard look in his eyes.

"Okay, I'm completely, utterly, eternally, head-over-heels in love with you, but we cannot be together." My surprise was evident. My grip on his wrist slackened and he pulled his hand away.

"Why not?" I asked my firmness in my voice gone; he looked at the ground.

"Because, someone like me, a person with sins, cannot be with someone of the light." My fury returned and I gripped the front of his shirt tightly with both of my hands to force him to look at me in my eyes.

"What kind of half-ass excuse is that?! People with sins cannot be with people in the light; well if that's the case than that rule can go to hell for all I care!" He flinched slightly at my harshness, but I was on a roll with adrenaline coursing through my veins.

"No human being is perfect and without sins! If you think I'm someone with no regrets about my life, then you're wrong. I feel guilty all the time, but I don't think about it. I tell myself that I'll repent for those sins by living on to the future; to looking ahead instead of looking behind. However, I can understand that you feel like you need to do more to repent, and that's fine!" My gaze softened and I spoke my next words in a soft tone.

"Just don't forget that there are people who care about you so much that their life would be unbearable without you in it." His eyes widened in surprise as he looked deeply into my own. A smile was shining on my face now. It felt good to say that, finally.

"Erza…" Jellal whispered softly before embracing me firmly into a hug after I had caught a glimpse of a smile on his face. He pulled away after a few minutes to look me into my eyes.

"I love you so much; will you go out with me? I know that it'll be risky for you so—" I cut him off by crashing my lips against his. He should really learn when to talk and when to shut up. I already understand the risks of being with a "criminal," according to the magic council, but I couldn't care less. After a few more seconds we both broke from the kiss for air and I took his hand gently.

"There's a saying that 'love conquers all,' and I believe it. I know that this will end up being a long distance relationship, and that's fine. Just know that I'll always be waiting for you here." I said with a smile which he returned with one of his own.

"And you should know that I'll always return to you." We both stared into each other's eyes for a few more moments before giving a quick hug and walking back to the guild. Hand-in-hand.

**-Deoxies's POV-**

I decided to make sure that Erza-san and Jellal-san got a little privacy by erecting a sound-proof and vision-proof barrier around them as Jellal-san dragged Erza-san out of the guild. I tuned out their conversation myself, but I could already predict what it would be about, and when they both re-entered the guild hand-in-hand, I had figured out the result, so had the rest of the guild by the looks on their faces. No announcement was required, and I think that they had planned this for that reason. I'm so happy for both of them.

My attention was torn from the newly formed couple by watching Castor walk over to the dark corner where Devi resided. Uh-oh, please tell me he isn't going to provoke her anymore that he already has. She's already going to murder him ten-times over after his battle with Natsu-san, he shouldn't make it a hundred. I crept silently over to a nearby table to listen in on their conversation. If Castor decides to go on an insult spree again, I'd stop him. I felt someone next to me and saw Lucy-san staring at the two of them as well.

"Lucy-san, what are you doing here?" I urgently whispered so quietly, I was nervous that she hadn't had heard me. Her attention was still focused on the two new dark members in the corner while answering my question in the same hushed tone.

"I could tell that something was up with you by the look on your face. I'm guessing that you're going to prevent Castor from causing any more damage than already initiated?" I nodded and she must have seen it from the corner of her eye by what she said next.

"Then I'm going to help you if need be." I stared in shock at Lucy-san. She was a lot more courageous that I had originally estimated. I smiled to myself while listening in on Castor's and Devi's conversation.

"—speak with you?" Castor asked in a calm tone, which meant he didn't come over here to instigate war between himself and the devil, that's a relief.

"Sure, what's up?" Devi asked in one of her more pleasant tones (mind you, it isn't that pleasant for a normal person, but this is just about as good as Devi gets). Castor sat down across from Devilily so I could only see Devi's face. That isn't a great help since she's emotionless, but oh well.

"Is there any way possible to prevent nightmares for one night?" I saw Devi cock her only visible eyebrow before answering Castor in a softer tone that I had never heard her use.

"That's right, tonight you get nightmares again." Castor nodded and Devi sighed while leaning back in her chair with her left eye closed. When she opened them again, there was a playful smile dancing on her lips. "Are you taking your fight against Natsu seriously?" Castor leaned back with his hands behind his head.

"Possibly, I just don't want to underestimate him too much. I have pride you know." Even though I couldn't see Castor's face while he was saying this, I could envision it. There was probably a small dusting of pink on his cheeks; he was looking away from the devil with a small frown visible. I know my friends too well.

"Yeah, I know." I could tell that Devi wanted to throw a shot in there, but restrained herself because of her dare. She was really keeping it with all of her might. She continued without throwing a single insult.

"I think that there is something about this guild that makes me feel as though there is no possible way this guild could ever completely lose to an enemy." I glanced at Lucy-san and saw a smile on her face that complemented her small blush. I smiled, it seems the more aloof of my friends are starting to warm up to the guild.

"Well now that I'm a part of the guild, does that mean I'm unbeatable as well?" Lucy-san and I sweat-dropped at Castor's comment; I saw that Devi had rolled her ruby-red eye.

"Anyways, what were you getting at before with nightmares?" Devilily continued and I could so tell that she wanted to retaliate to his earlier comment but couldn't. Castor sat forward now more serious about this conversation.

"Well, I was wondering if it was possible to eliminate nightmare tonight so I could get a better sleep." Devi thought for a moment before nodding slowly. By Castor's reaction, I could tell that his usual confident smirk had appeared on his face.

"Great, could you do it?" Devi let out a sigh before answering Castor.

"It is possible to prevent nightmares for one night every six months, but—" Castor's shoulders slumped, he was not happy about the "but." "—it'll cause for worse nightmares for a week after you got a break from nightmares. So, you'd be getting worse nightmares every night for the next week. You still want to proceed in preventing tonight's nightmare?" Castor nodded after a few minutes of silence. He knew the consequences of going against the forces of the universe.

"Yes, even though I'll have amped nightmares for an entire week, I'd rather have no regrets about this fight." Devi nodded with a hint of a smirk on her lips. She signaled that Castor should lean in with her hand, and he followed her instructions. She placed her left thumb on his forehead before muttering some dark spell under her breath that caused dark magic to swirl around her and Castor. When it was over, Castor stood up and was looking down at Devi.

"Thanks Devs." He said before walking away and out the guild doors. Knowing him, he'll probably go home to train some more. Devi sat at the table with her head leaning on her hand so that her hand was covering her eyes.

"You shouldn't thank me." She mumbled and Lucy-san and I left our hiding spot in silence before finding a secluded table to sit together.

"What was that all about?" She asked and I let out an exasperated sigh. I needed to choose my words carefully or else Castor will kill me.

"Castor has a cycle of getting nightmares every three nights, and because of Devi's magic, nightmares are under her domain of dominance. Therefore, Castor asked Devi to disable him from having nightmares tonight in order to get a more solid sleep for his skirmish against Natsu-san tomorrow." Lucy-san nodded in understanding before Natsu-san came flying over at us after being thrown by Gray-san.

"You Fire Bastard, why the hell did you draw on my face?!" Natsu-san got up after smashing the table Lucy-san and I were sitting at with a deadly look in his eyes.

"I didn't draw on your face Ice Princess, but I think it's a great improvement for you." A vein visibly popped on Gray-san's forehead as Natsu-san jumped from the table to engage in another brawl with the ice-make mage. Lucy-san and I sighed in unison before giggling to ourselves at the males' idiocy. After a few more minutes of our laughing fest, Lucy turned to me while Erza-san had gotten up after someone had thrown a table that hit her head.

"By the way, you can stop adding the '-san' at the end of my name since we're now about the same age." I blinked rapidly, this was true, I guess that I had just gotten into a habit of saying Lucy-san all the time.

"Then what should I call you?" Lucy let out a laugh like it was the most obvious thing in the world of what I should call her.

"You can call me Lucy, and I'm sure this applies to the rest of the guild as well. Being called with honorifics when the girl saying them is about the same age is totally embarrassing." I blushed as I thought about it. I apologize for getting into a habit of honorifics.

"Alright Lucy, if you insist." She smiled her kind smile.

"See, now it makes us seem closer, Deox-chan!" We started laughing again as Erza-san beat the crap out of all the males were a part of the brawl. It was just another average day in Fairy Tail after all.

**-Angelica's POV-**

I love being enveloped in Cody's warm, long arms. They make me feel safe, at peace. His right arm draped over my small frame and I could see the light blue ribbon around his wrist with the word "Angel" written in cursive gold. I glanced down at my right wrist quickly to check my dark green watch. It was our exchange in promises. The thought made me smile and a light blush appear on my face.

Cody and I were currently flipping through magazines that display different spots in Magnolia to sight-see. We were planning on going sightseeing together soon so that not only could we get to know this new town, but also spend some time alone together. I just hope that it'll be a sunny and warm day. My thoughts were interrupted by Cody talking in his usual polite manner.

"So, we are planning on going to see the Caldia Cathedral, Fairy Hills, Lake Sciliora, Magnolia Park, The Sakura Grove, and Central Path?" I nodded vigorously causing Cody's grin to broaden. Did I mention that I love his smile? A person's smile can tell a lot about them, for example: Cody's smile causes all of his facial features to soften which a more mature smile; Deox's smile reveals some of her teeth and her eyes twinkle, so it's a very courageous and fun-loving smile; Natsu-kun's grin is very broad and shows all of his fangs, so it's a cheerful smile that can brighten any situation; Lucy-chan's smile is kind and sweet with the edges curling which means she loves to laugh; Erza-chan's smile has a mature and kind air which can also mean that she loves being around her friends; Castor's smile is sly yet confident which stands for a troublemaker. They are all slightly different and unique which clearly states all of their personalities. I haven't seen Devi smile, which is why it took longer to figure out her personality, but I'm sure that her smile, when she truly shows it, will be amazing.

It was at this time that Wendy-chan came over to the table and sat across from me. Cody gave me a quick peck on the forehead before whispering that he was going over to the bar. I nodded as I watched him leave; now missing his warm presence. My attention snapped back to Wendy-chan when she cleared her throat.

"I apologize for interrupting you two." A blush grew on my face as I waved my hand.

"No, it's fine, we had just finished discussion different places we should visit in Magnolia." Wendy-chan nodded in understanding, and I smiled warmly. It's hard to believe that I'm two years older than her, yet I'm about the same height, if not shorter. The only blunette who isn't short is Juvia-chan. Cody calls me "fun-sized" to help me feel better about our height differences, but sometimes life isn't really fair.

"I was just thinking about how you said that you were primarily a healer, right?" I nodded, healing was my specialty, but, like Deoxies said, I can also use defensive and offensive magics if need be.

"Wendy-chan is a healer as well, right? You use Sky-dragon slayer magic." I replied with a grin; Deoxies had told us the basics about everyone in the guild. Wendy-chan nodded before smiling. I like this girl already.

"You seem like a really kind person, Angelica-san." Wendy-chan stated which made me blush.

"T-thank you, but please don't call me Angelica-san, just call me Ange or Ange-chan, okay?" Wendy-chan and I giggled for a little bit before Wendy-chan was called over by Cana-san for some reason. She said a quick goodbye before I was left alone. Maybe I should go over to Cody—? It was then that a short-haired silver mage sat down in front of me with an exhausted sigh. I blinked a few times while staring at the female in front of me. Her name was Lisanna-chan, right?

"I'm tired from running around serving people, and you looked lonely, so I decided to take my break with you, if that's alright Ange-chan." I nodded quietly while Lisanna-chan smiled.

"Waa, you are really cute, just like a little angel." A heated blush rose to my face from embarrassment.

"May I ask Lisanna-chan what the real reason that she is over here for?" Lisanna-chan narrowed her blue eyes at me before he smile returned.

"I understand that you didn't go to the sleep-over last night, but I was wondering if you'd be interested in a dare that'll happen in two days." My ears perked up. Usually, at female sleep-overs romance was involved at some point in time, especially in truth or dare games.

"What type of dare was it, and for whom?" Lisanna-chan smile turned a little bit dangerous, I can see the resemblance between Lisanna-chan and Mira-san.

"The dare is for Lucy and she has to take Natsu on a shopping trip in exactly two days." My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. How, exactly, is that interesting?

"Um, what do you want me to help with?" The mischievous smile on Lisanna-chan's face broadened before she leaned in to whisper something in my ear.

"I was hoping that you'd help me 'liven-up' their little…excursion. If you know what I mean." She said while giving me a wink. I felt myself grinning as the cupid part of me awakened.

"Count me in, but isn't your sister also helping?" Lisanna sat back in her seat while letting out a sigh.

"Unfortunately she was dared to not use any of her 'matchmaking' ways for an entire week while Lucy was dared to go shopping with Natsu in two days. So, Mira-nee cannot help us." After that, Lisanna-chan said a quick goodbye since she had to go back and help her sister, and Cody came back over to me. I now had something to look forward to on my third day in Fairy Tail.

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><p><strong>-Normal POV-<strong>

The rest of the night went on normally with Natsu leaving early and crashing at Lucy's in order to get a good night's rest before his match tomorrow with Castor. Lucy didn't mind since she knows how important this battle was for Natsu, and decided to just sleep on the couch. Castor ended up training until 9:30 pm where he hit the showers before going to be with a solid sleep. Devilily had trained with him since 8 o'clock, to when he left; before continuing to train by herself until midnight. Everyone else made sure to get a decent night's rest so that they'd be awake for the thrilling competition the next day.

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><p><strong>AN: That's it for chapter three! What Erza said to Jellal is what I was hoping she'd say to him if they ever confessed. My OCs personalities got revealed a bit more as well as their magic, and the majority of the dares were completed. The next chapter will be the fight between Castor and Natsu, so I hope you'll enjoy it! On that note, I bid you all a great day! ;)<strong>


	5. Chapter 4: The Clash of World & Fire

**AN: Hello everyone, I'm back (obviously)! Chapter four, the fight, is readable! I thank all of the readers for continuing to read my story, it motivates me to continue writing! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail, which belongs to Hiro Mashima**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 4: The Clash of World &amp; Fire<span>**

**-The Next Day, Magnolia Park, 11:45 am, Normal POV-**

The crowd of Fairy Tail mages milled around the battle site for the fight between Castor and Natsu; neither one had showed up yet, but people were getting anxious. Deoxies was currently talking with Master about how she'll be erecting a barrier around Magnolia, Magnolia Park, and the guild. It was just as a safety precaution to help elude any pursuers who may still be on their trail but in the shadows.

Erza was impatiently pacing back and forth to create a rut while giving off an irritated aura. If this had been her brawl, she would've wanted her opponent at the site at least fifteen minutes early. When it was 11:55 am, the two people participating finally arrived…while arguing with someone. Natsu and Lucy arrived with one of their usual arguments about breakfast while Castor and Devi were quarreling about how Castor somehow hit Devi while she was trying to wake him up. Everyone sweat-dropped at the sight.

As soon as Natsu and Castor noticed each other, the two stopped moving and glared at one another, dark gray against dark green. Lucy and Devi, observing that their arguments were over, both quickly whispered something in the males' ears. Natsu gave Lucy his famous toothy grin while Castor rolled his eyes before grumbling something back at Devilily. The two females then left the "arena" and Master Makarov stepped forth.

"I will be refereeing this match between Natsu Dragneel and Castor Greve-ame." Master dramatically paused and everyone glanced back and forth between the two. Natsu was grinning broadly with his fangs showing while cracking his knuckles. Castor, on the other hand, had a bored expression plastered on his face with his hands in his hoodie's pockets. He looked as though he wasn't taking this battle seriously. Secretly, bets were being placed by various members on either party. Master continued what he was saying.

"No weapons will be permitted, nor will be killing and/or fatally injuring the other person. This match goes until one of them is unable to continue or surrenders. BEGIN!"

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><p>As soon as Gramps had said "begin," Natsu launched himself with a flaming fist at Castor who dodged. Natsu twisted around in mid-air and struck Castor with his "Talons of the Fire Dragon." Castor blocked, but moved a meter away from where he originally stood. Just as Natsu put one foot down after his attack, the ground shifted beneath his feet causing Natsu to lose balance. Castor struck Natsu with a rock-covered fist, which Natsu managed to block but the force of the blow slammed him into the ground.<p>

Natsu gasped in surprise, but sensed imminent danger and leaped out of the way just as Castor brought his foot down on the now empty space. Natsu breathed his Fire Dragon's roar. The flames only barely affected Castor, but his sweatshirt had now large burnt holes in it. Castor returned Natsu's attack with his Worldly lightning, which Natsu ate, before ripping off the remainder of his hoodie. He was now wearing a light gray muscle shirt with the word "Strike" written on it in dark gray, and people could see that he was wearing gray leather, fingerless gloves. The worldly mage mumbled something under his breath (most likely curses) before the combat continued where it had left off. The fight continued in a similar fashion as before with one of them attacking while the other dodges, blocks, and counters with minimal affect. The fight began picking up pace and soon most spectators couldn't keep up.

After a good fifteen minutes of brawling, Castor solidly connected a round-house kick to Natsu's gut while pushing off from the ground with his hands. This caused Natsu to go sprawling a few meters away. Natsu, now slightly battered and bruised, slowly tried to get up while Castor, in a similar state as his opponent, recovered his breath. It had been a close battle for a while, but viewers could notice that Castor was faring better than Natsu was, and it didn't like the situation would change much.

"Why do you keep fighting even though you can basically figure out that you're going to lose?" Castor questioned in a slightly annoyed tone after recovering his breath. Natsu was now standing with a hard look in his eyes.

"As long as I can stand, this fight isn't over yet!" Natsu declared between breaths. Castor's stormy-silver eyes widened before he dipped his head in order to cover his eyes with his black bangs. Castor's body began shaking slightly and a broad troublemaker's smile appeared on his face. It was the first time that the guild had seen Castor smile before, but they were in for a bigger surprise when the worldly mage threw his head back, with his right hand covering his eyes, in laughter. Everyone was staring at Castor in shock, including Natsu who was confused as well. After about a minute of boisterous laughing, Castor looked at Natsu with his confident, yet sly, grin and an amused twinkle in his eyes.

"Hey Pink-squeak, warm-up time is over now, don't you think?" Natsu quickly recovered from his initial shock of Castor laughing by the insult which allowed his smirk to return as he set his hand on fire.

"Yosh, I'm all fired up."

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><p>The fight continued with barely little, if any, magic being used since the two males' magics seemed to not have that great of an effect on the other. Even though harsh blows were being exchanged and the two guys were now bloodied and bruised in several places, they were smiling their own unique smiles. Without magic, everyone could agree that they looked to be just about even in skill.<p>

The fight had been going on for ten minutes after that little hiccup in action, and the mêlée was nearing its maximum time of a forty-five minutes. Both the contenders could sense the end, so they gave it everything that they had for one final attack. Both of their fists made contact with their opponent's faces causing both of them to go flying in opposite directions.

Castor ended up doing two flips in mid-air before landing hard on the ground and skidding about five meters with his bare hands (he'd lost his gloves somewhere deep into the fight) and combat-boot covered feet scraping at the ground to cause friction. When the black-headed newbie had come to a stop, his hands were bloody from the rough ground, and his mouth had the metallic taste of blood in it. Natsu, on the other hand, had also done a few flips in the air but as he tried to stop himself in a similar manner as Castor had, his back made contact with as solid stone wall that collapsed from the force of the impact, but rendered Natsu unconscious.

Everyone gasped at the ending. Lucy was covering her mouth with her hands while her brown eyes were wide with shock and worry; Erza was trembling slightly with her brown eyes wide; Devilily's red eye seemed to be calculating the entire battle while assessing the situation for both parties; Deoxies was sweating from the effort she was using to hold up the barrier, but almost lost concentration when she saw the last hit; Happy whimpered "Natsu" in a worried voice with a frown on his face; Gray gritted his teeth while his navy blue eyes were wide in surprise; Angelica and Wendy's tiny hands had flew to their mouths with worry written across their body language; and Cody's green eyes were wide, but he also seemed to be reading the damage. The entire crowd was surprised, they'd never had thought that Natsu would end up losing the way he did. They were all whispering about if the battle was over and if this meant that Castor had won. Just as Master was about to announce Castor as the winner, he stopped.

Castor was limping over to Natsu with his black bangs covering his eyes and a long cut running down his left arm with blood dripping off of his hands. When he had reached Natsu, he slung one of Natsu's arms over his shoulder before standing back up.

"No, there isn't a winner; this fight is a draw. Neither one of us used our full potential." Castor boldly announced before limping, with an unconscious Natsu, back to the guild to receive medical attention. Cody, one of the first to recover, recognized that a very injured person was carrying a heavy unconscious person, and ran over to help while signaling to Angelica and Wendy to go with him.

"I'll be transporting the five of us to the guild for the injured to receive medical attention." Cody announced before telling everyone to hold on to him (Ange hugged him, Castor put a hand on his shoulder, and Wendy gripped his arm) before the dimensional mage snapped his fingers causing all five figures to disappear from Magnolia Park.

The crowd started dispersing with various members of the guild going to different locations. The only ones left were the remainder of Team Natsu, Juvia, Gajeel, Deoxies, Devilily, and the Master. They were all staring at the "arena" as if trying to recall the recent brawl that had just taken place there, when Deoxies collapsed. Everyone remaining rushed to her side where Devi was already trying to pick her up. Erza, never being one who liked being left in the dark about a nakama, asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"What happened to her?" Deox's eyelids fluttered, she was breathing heavily, and sweating bullets. When Lucy put a hand to the girl's forehead, she quickly retracted due to the heat it was giving off.

"She used up too much mental concentration as well as magic on projecting the illusion barrier around the city, park, and guild. She'll be fine, but she needs to rest." Devi stated before turning directly to Erza.

"Do you have an armor that's fast? If so, how fast can you run?"

"How'd you know that she uses armor?" Gajeel asked in his usual gruff way, but it was Erza who cut him off.

"Shut up, Gajeel, this isn't the time for those types of questions. Yes I do have a speed armor, and it is allows me to be one of the fastest things that I know exist." Devilily nodded in approval slung one of Deox's arms over her left shoulder while Erza re-quipped into her Flight Armor. With a flash, the two were gone towards the guild where they'd lay Deox down to rest on one of the beds. Everyone else still in the park quickly dashed after them to see how everyone who was injured and/or unconscious was faring.

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><p><strong>-Fairy Tail Guild, Normal POV-<strong>

Within the resting room of the guild, Natsu was slowly coming to while Wendy was healing him on one of the beds. Castor was residing on the bed next to Natsu's with Angelica healing him as he talked to Cody. Lucy was chatting with Erza and Devilily around Deoxies's bed while the Master stood at the entrance watching everything.

A few minutes later, Deox woke up while saying that she was hungry, so she and Erza left the room to go grab a bite to eat. Cody left to go get food for the healers after getting fed up with Castor's idiocy, and the Master left after hearing a loud crash from the main guild hall. The only ones left in the "infirmary" were Natsu, Castor, Devi, Lucy, Wendy, and Angelica. Suddenly, Natsu bolted upright with wide eyes which startled everyone remaining in the room. He looked around to take in his surroundings before his eyes settled on Castor.

"What was the result of our fight?" Natsu asked really quickly and loudly. Castor blinked blankly.

"It ended in a tie…?" Castor hesitantly replied before Natsu barraged him with another question.

"I was knocked unconscious, so wouldn't you have won? Unless the time ran out beforehand." Castor waved aside Natsu's last sentence.

"No, I declared it to be a tie." Natsu gritted his teeth in rage, and Lucy had to put a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from jumping out of the bed while Wendy was still healing him.

"Why did you do that?! Out of sympathy?!" Devi put a finger on Castor to prevent him from completely blowing up at Natsu's accusation.

"Why the hell would I do that?! I'm an honorable, and prideful, fighter! I declared it to be a draw since you slammed into a wall, which could be considered a weapon, and since neither of us used our full potential of power!" Natsu seemed to visibly calm down after the clarification which allowed Castor to drop his guard.

"Oh, I'm sorry for accusing you of that, and for your injuries." Castor waved it off with a hand gesture and his usual smile.

"No hard feelings, Natsu, especially since I dealt a lot of damage to you as well. Besides, I was injured a lot worse after I returned from—" He broke off and glanced sideways at Devi who was giving him a warning glare.

"—never mind. Anyway, thanks for that awesome battle. It's the first brawl against someone outside our group that's actually gotten me excited." Castor displayed his smile which Natsu returned, but Lucy got a sense of uneasiness beneath that front.

"Right back at you, Castor!" They both grinned while giving each other a Fairy Tail worthy high-five. It signified that the two guys not only held respect for one another, but also had a bro-moment. It was by this time that the two healers had done all that they could for the males' wounds and Devi cleared her throat.

"Ange, are Castor's injuries all healed, now?" The petite angel nodded while whipping sweat off of her forehead.

"Good." Devilily stated monotonously before turning to Castor so fast, that she made lighting look slow; and then she struck the worldly mage in the gut with her right fist. Castor doubled-over with a groan and looked at the devil with complete loathing.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"Yesterday." Devilily smirked maliciously while saying this, before she turned to address Ange, again.

"Do NOT heal him of that injury. He needs to suffer through the pain." Angelica gulped in fear while nodding vigorously. Devi stalked out of the room, satisfied. This left Lucy, Wendy, and Ange speechless; Castor groaning in agony; and Natsu laughing very hard.

"Does Devi not know the meaning of holding back?" Lucy asked, still in shock.

"The terms 'holding back,' 'restraint,' and such do not exist in her dictionary." Angelica said now recovered from her surprise since she was used to Devi's violent rage.

"I'm just glad that she used her non-dominant hand, or else I would've been in a whole lot worse of shape." Castor grunted, now getting used to the pain in his abdomen.

"Devilily-san is left handed?" Wendy asked in her polite and cute voice. Castor nodded in response while Angelica decided to explain.

"Devilily is ambidextrous, but she favors her left-hand. She just forced herself to be able to use both for survival reasons." Wendy nodded in understanding while Lucy furrowed her blonde eyebrows in contemplation.

"What do you mean for survival?" Lucy asked and as Angelica opened her mouth to explain, Castor slapped a hand over her mouth while giving the sky-bluenette a warning glance and shook his head. It was obvious that there are still plenty of secrets that the group isn't sharing with the guild yet.

"Let's just say, we've had it rough in the past." Castor said in a harsher tone while slowly standing up clutching his abdomen. It seems like the punch still affected him. The group dropped the discussion when Cody walked back in with two platters of meals. Natsu's eyes became starry and drool started leaking from his mouth. Lucy rolled her eyes and smothered her laughter when Cody gave the meals to Wendy and Angelica causing Natsu to sulk in misery. Lucy touched Natsu's shoulder causing him to look at her with pleading eyes.

"Natsu, are you well enough to walk?" He immediately perked up at the unspoken suggestion before springing from the bed while nodding vigorously. Lucy let out a laugh just as Natsu grabbed her wrist and sprinted out the resting room with Lucy in tow. Everyone sweat-dropped, and then Ange and Cody left the room saying that they wanted to eat in the main hall. Castor, now able to move freely with minimal pain in his stomach, was just about to leave when Wendy's voice stopped him.

"Um, Castor-san, it's alright if you and Devilily-san don't want to share everything, but just know that everyone in the guild will be there to listen if you ever feel like it." Castor gave her a softer version of his troublemaker's smile while walking over to her and patting her on the head.

"Arigato, Wendy, but anything that has even a little bit to do with Devs has to come from her. She's…got it worse than all of us combined. So, just be patient and be yourself around her, okay? She'll come around eventually." He grinned at the sky-dragon slayer again before walking out of the infirmary with his hands in his pockets. Wendy stared after the black-haired boy after he had left the threshold, and thought to herself just how much Castor really cared about his friends.

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><p><strong>AN: And that ends the fight! I actually had a hard time coming up with the ending to the fight, but one day, it just came to me and I'm just exclaimed aloud, "why didn't I think of that sooner?" Anyways, I hoped you all enjoyed the result, too, and don't think that Castor is so much of a jerk anymore. I mean, he still kind of is one, but he's getting better, thanks to Fairy Tail. The next chapter is Lucy's dare of the shopping trip with Natsu! As always, any and all reviews are appreciated, and constructive criticism is welcome! Well, again I thank you all for reading and bid you all an awesome day! ;)<strong>


	6. Chapter 5: The Excursion

**AN: Hey everyone! The time has finally come for Lucy's dare...the shopping trip! Since the girls of Fairy Tail will be meddling, there are some snippets of NaLu here and there. Anyways, thank you to all my readers, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail, which belongs to Hiro Mashima**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 5: The Excursion<strong>

**-The Next Day, Normal POV, Lucy's House-**

It was nine-thirty in the morning when the Lucy's doorbell rang signaling the start of her dare. She walked over to the door confused since Natsu would usually just enter through the window not caring if Lucy was decent or not. Today, Lucy decided to go casual with red heart-cruz shirt beneath a pink zip-up hoodie with the word "STARS" written in black across the back, light skinny jeans tucked into her usual black boots, her belt with her keys and whip, her black wrist band, her usual heart dangle earrings, and her shoulder-length blonde hair tied back in a side ponytail. When she answered the consistent rings of the doorbell, she was shocked by a sight that'll never leave her memory.

Natsu was there wearing a red T-shirt with a gold dragon on the bottom hem of the shirt, dark jeans that were a bit long and draped a bit over his sneakers (that were untied), his black wristband, Igneel's scarf, and a mixed bouquet of irises and daffodils of a variety of colors. Lucy felt tears in the corners of her eyes, they were her favorite flowers. Sure, just like any other girl, she liked roses, but she always thought that roses were overrated and thorny. People always associated roses with romance, and they did go well together, but she had always liked the unique shapes and colorings of irises and daffodils that are usually overlooked at the florist. Natsu had somehow known her favorite flowers.

"Wow, thank you, Natsu, they're beautiful…but how did you know that irises and daffodils were my favorite?" Lucy asked while taking the bouquet from Natsu while welcoming him inside her house, for one of the very few, if any, times. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously while looking away.

"Well, several of the girls, mostly Lisanna, told me to bring you a bouquet of flowers. They told me to get roses, but I remembered that whenever we past a florist you would stop to smell these flowers and skip the roses, so that's why I figured that you liked these flowers better." Lucy didn't say anything in response, but she turned away blushing while putting the flowers into a vase.

"Would you like some breakfast? I made some pancakes with scrambled eggs and bacon." Natsu immediately sat down at Lucy's table with sparkling eyes and a bobbing head. Lucy laughed while bringing over the prepared breakfast for Natsu as well as herself. Natsu finished his stack of pancakes smothered in maple syrup, mound of scrambled eggs, and pile of bacon strips all within a minute. Lucy had finished her smaller sized breakfast in ten. After Lucy had put the dishes in the dishwasher, Lucy quickly tied Natsu's sneakers with an exasperated sigh before the two left Lucy's house to go on their shopping trip.

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><p>After visiting several book stores, a few magic shops, and numerous clothing stores, Lucy was grinning from ear to ear with a few small bags hanging on her arms while her partner was less than satisfied. He was carrying way too many large, heavy bags and had a depressed aura surrounding him. Many males who noticed Natsu gave him pitying looks. Just as Natsu was about to complain about the weight being unbearable, a familiar, cute and high-pitched voice spoke up.<p>

"Hey, Lucy-chan, Natsu-kun, konichiwa!" ["konichiwa" is a type of greeting] Angelica called out while dragging along Cody by his arm. The two partners turned to see the blue and white angel bounding towards them with Cody trying to calm her down while smiling.

"Ange-chan, and Cody! What are you two doing here?" Lucy asked in her usual kind and pleasant tone. She was nervous that maybe the girls had been plotting something to do with her dare, but so far, nothing has happened. Angelica hadn't been at the sleepover, so she most likely doesn't know about it. Besides, if she did, wouldn't she be ruining her and Natsu's alone time which is the only point in time for them to supposedly "have a moment" as matchmaker Mira would say?

"We're here grocery shopping for our group since we lost rock-paper-scissors." Angelica said while pouting and holding out a shopping list. Lucy gave her a sympathetic smile while Cody was talking to Natsu.

"Natsu-san, would you like me to teleport Lucy-san's bought items to her house so you won't have to carry them?" Natsu looked at the dimensional mage with grateful tears streaming down his face. Cody took this as a yes, so he snapped his fingers causing all of the heavy bags to disappear from Natsu's sore arms. Natsu did a victory dance that made Angelica and Lucy laugh while Cody look startled, especially when Natsu grabbed one of his hands and shook it for a hand shake while saying "thank you" about fifty times.

"I-it's no problem, Natsu-san." Cody said while removing his hand from Natsu's grasp and shaking it gently to regain feeling in it. Natsu blinked at Cody blankly.

"Why do you keep calling me 'Natsu-san'? Were about the same age, aren't we?" Cody smiled politely before answering Natsu's two inquiries.

"It's just by habit that I call you Natsu-san, and yes, I do believe that we're about the same age, at least appearance wise."

"Cody is polite and mature by nature, it even took us a while to make him stop adding '-san' to the end of our names as well!" Angelica clarified to the blonde and pinkette.

"Cody, could you also teleport these bags to my house as well?" Lucy asked while holding out the few items that she was carrying. Cody smiled and nodded before snapping his figures one again causing the bags to vanish.

"Thank you so much. Well, we're hungry after all of that shopping so we're going to grab a bite to eat. See ya!" Lucy said while beginning to walk away with Natsu bounding next to her when Angelica called out.

"Lucy-chan!"

"Yeah, Ange-chan?"

"I heard good things about the 8-island, today there's supposedly some special offer or something." Lucy grinned at the information before saying "thanks" back to the little angel and Natsu and her walking together to the restaurant.

**-About Noon, 8-island Restaurant, Lucy's POV-**

Ah, this place brings back memories of working here with Natsu, Gray, and Erza. Those were some good times. The building is the same old, worn, yet cared-for building with the "8-island" sign above the entrance and an extra sign out front saying that there was a special today. It didn't give the details, but this is Yajima-san we're talking about. He'd probably want it to be a surprise.

Natsu bolted inside while holding onto my wrist causing me to be dragged after him. Some things just never change, do they? When we entered the restaurant, my jaw dropped, eyes bulged, and all of my limbs went slack. Why, you may ask? The diner was having a special alright, a "Couple Special." The restaurant had been redecorated with red roses as center pieces on all of the tables, a red carpet in between all of the tables to mark the walkway, the lights were a bit dimmer and aromatic candles were lit, the seat cushions had dark pink velvet covering them, and there were red and pink hearts everywhere. The waitresses were dresses like goddesses of love with a white knee-length dress that was lined with gold and tinged with red or pink on the hems and it had one shoulder strap with a dangling sleeve, and they wore white, gray, or black ankle boots.

To say I was shocked and disgusted would be an understatement. I felt myself freeze and crumble away to dust. Had Ange-chan been a part of their plot after all? No, she's too innocent and nice for that right? She said that they were having a special, which is true, and I believe that she's in a relationship with Cody, which may be why she knows about it. Still…I can't help but now feel uneasy about the little bluenette.

When I glanced over at Natsu, I resisted the urge to burst out laughing. His face was contorted with disgust at the decorations and it resembled all of the times that he was motion-sick on transportation. It helped me feel better, even if that's a bit mean. It was then that a waitress came over with dark brown hair and familiar blue eyes, but I couldn't remember where I saw them before. She was about my height and was wearing what all the waitresses were wearing. She smiled at us.

"Table for two?" I quickly glanced at Natsu, who was still frozen, before answering.

"Uh, sorry, um, I don't think that we'll be eating here." I replied, in a nicer tone, but the waitress kept grinning.

"Just so you guys know, any customer couples who pass the 'test of love' can eat however much they want for seventy-five percent off!" When the waitress said "eat however much they want" Natsu's eyes began to sparkle. It was obvious that had missed everything else. However, he does eat a lot, and I'm paying for everything today, and if the test isn't that hard, we could get discount on what Natsu eats! I may not like the setting, but this is a good deal when it comes to money.

"Natsu, do you want to stay now?" He turned to me and grinned, the waitress took that as a yes before leading us to a booth lavished in various romantic symbols. I sighed, and kept reminding myself that this was a good deal. Even though all of the girls in Fairy Tail had funded me for this trip, the more I spend of their money, the greater detail I have to tell them about this trip. Not fun. Another waitress came to our table. This one had short blue hair and dark brown eyes that, again, were familiar.

"Will the couple be taking the test?" I nodded and Natsu leaned across the table to whisper something in my ear while the waitress went to go get something.

"What is all of this 'couple' talk going on?" I sighed at Natsu's comment while resisting the urge to face palm. Of course he doesn't get it; Natsu has never been one for romantic stuff.

"Natsu, the couple talk is about the special transpiring at the diner right now—you know what, just forget about it. It's not very important; just know that unless we pass the 'test' coming up, you don't get to eat your million course meal that you like." Natsu nodded with wide eyes, and I glanced out the window. This will be a long shopping trip.

It turns out that the test was fairly simple. I just had to fall backward from the top of the building and trust that Natsu will catch me. I was tempted to scream, but I didn't and tears streamed down my face involuntarily instead. Thank Mavis that I was only wearing water-proof mascara today. Natsu did catch me and strayed standing for once. Although I was blushing when all of the waitresses started clapping while saying that we were an amazing couple. I don't think Natsu understood the message because he looked just like he normally does.

After Natsu had finished his million course meal, and my entrée with an appetizer, the bill ended up being 5500J, which is surprisingly cheap considering how much Natsu ate. Just as we were leaving, Yajima-san came out to say hello, but as I was about to cross the threshold of the entrance, Yajima-san said something that made my heart stop.

"I wasn't the one who planned this event, but it turned our alright, I guess." As Natsu and I continued walking several thoughts about today swirled my mind. So was this a set up for Natsu and I after all? I remembered the waitresses who all held familiar eyes. Don't tell me that they were—

"Luce! Hey, Earthland to Luce, are you there?" Natsu called causing my thoughts to break. I blinked a few times and saw that we were back in the shopping area.

"Y-yeah, Natsu?" I asked while mentally cursing myself for stuttering. Natsu gave me a grin.

"You were spacing out there, it looked weird." I felt anger broil in the pit of my stomach. This idiot had the nerve to call me weird? Natsu, as if sensing my rage, spoke quickly.

"Anyway, do you have anywhere else that you want to go?" I thought for a moment before shaking my head.

"Natsu, do you have anything that you want? I'm paying for everything today." Natsu looked up as if in thought—wait, Natsu's in thought?! My jaw dropped at the realization just as Natsu spoke again.

"Well, there was this one thing that interested me, can I go get it?" I nodded and signaled that he should lead the way when he held out his hand.

"I'd prefer to get it by myself, but since you said you're paying, I kind of need money." I grumbled while taking out my wallet and handing it to him. I told him that I'd wait here, before he left.

After several minutes of waiting, Natsu returned with nothing in hand except my wallet, which I took back. I looked at him skeptically.

"Natsu, what did you buy?" He scratched the back of his neck with his usual grin.

"Something." I pouted, why wasn't he telling me?

"Yeah, I could guess 'something' but what was it?" Natsu pulled a clear container out of his pocket that had thumbtacks in it. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he was grinning like his usual self, so I let the conversation drop. We continued our shopping adventure with numerous laughs that made me forget all of my worries. That's something that being around Natsu does, makes you forget anything stressful, and just enjoy life. Too soon evening came and along with it two hungry stomachs. We grinned at each other.

"Where do you want to eat?" I asked Natsu, and just as he was about to answer, someone popped out and interrupted him.

"How about you two go to the Sakura Restaurant?" A familiar voice said from behind Natsu and I that made us jump. I turned and saw Deox-chan standing there with a smile on her face and her multi-colored hair in loose braids. She was wearing a dark violet sweatshirt with a gray belt that had a weird symbol, dark ripped jeans, and mid-calf violet boots.

"Deox-chan, what are you doing here?" I asked and Deoxies continued to grin.

"You see, Lisanna asked me to assist her by dressing up as a total stranger and ushering you guys into the Sakura Restaurant for dinner, but I decided to not dress-up." I looked at her gratefully; it's nice to know that I have someone powerful on my side.

"Why would Lisanna want us to go to the Sakura Restaurant?" Natsu asked and Deox-chan looked at him with an odd glint in her eyes.

"Oh, for certain reasons."

"Thanks Deox-chan for being on my side!" I said with tears welling in my eyes, but when she looked at me with her rainbow-colored eyes gleaming, I wanted to take back my words.

"Who said I was on your side?" Before I could even think about what she meant, Deox-chan snapped her fingers and everything went black.

**-Evening, Normal POV-**

Lucy and Natsu appeared in the Sakura Restaurant (which is near Lake Sciliora) at a low table where the customers sat on comfortable, cherry blossom patterned, cushions. Since it was a nicer restaurant, Deoxies even took the liberty of changing Lucy's and Natsu's outfits. Lucy was now wearing a nice strapless light pink dress that went down to her mid-calves, with a yellow ribbon tied around the waist, the hem had gold cherry blossoms embroidery, a nice thin white sweater, white one-inch high heels, a golden key necklace, and an over-the-shoulder hand bag with her keys and whip inside. Natsu, on the other hand, was wearing a red dress shirt with a black vest, black dress pants, black dress shoes, and his scarf.

"Deoxies!" The two cried in unison (far away Deoxies waved towards the Sakura restaurant and said "Itarasshi") ["Itrarasshi" means "have fun"] before they looked at their partner. Lucy got a slight blush on her face when she saw what Natsu was wearing, but that blush became deeper when he made a comment.

"You look nice, Luce." Some incoherent words spilled out of her mouth before Lucy could form actual words.

"Y-you too, Natsu." He grinned with a slight, unnoticeable, blush on his cheeks. Their mood was interrupted by a waiter coming up to their table.

"Hello, I shall be your waiter tonight; can I get you anything to drink?" He asked and Lucy and Natsu both feverishly reached for a menu before flipping to the beverages section. Lucy was the first to find what she wanted.

"Could I have a strawberry-banana smoothie, please?" The waiter nodded and wrote down her order before turning to Natsu.

"Does your Special Fire-Breather have alcohol in it?" The waiter shook his head and Natsu grinned.

"Then I'll have that, thanks." The waiter bowed before disappearing from the table. Lucy turned back to Natsu.

"In case you haven't figured it out yet, basically all of the females in Fairy Tail have been creating set-ups for us throughout the day." Natsu cocked an eyebrow at Lucy's elucidation.

"I don't remember seeing anyone other than Ange and Deox today."

"They were the waitresses at 8-island, except in disguise, which is why there was a 'special' there today." Natsu shrugged and looked back at the menu.

"Whatever, the females at the guild are weird." A vein popped on Lucy's forehead, but she resisted the urge to yell at him in the restaurant.

"I'm paying, Natsu." Lucy said while viewing her menu. Natsu looked up at her.

"I'm starting to feel bad for letting you pay for the entire day." Lucy peered at Natsu over her menu and saw his concerned eyes. She waved him off.

"Don't worry, it's my treat today for dragging you shopping, but don't think that it'll happen again anytime soon."

"Aye." Natsu said in copy of Happy since Lucy had spoken in a harsher tone. It was then that the waiter came back with their drinks before taking out his memo pad and pen to take their orders.

"What may I interest the two of you in eating tonight?" The waiter asked politely and Natsu decided to order first.

"Could I have your Five Hot Flavors?" Natsu asked and the waiter nodded before turning to me.

"Can I have your Angel of Sea and Land pasta, please? Oh, and can we have your ten onigiri appetizer with plain and curry flavors?" [Onigiri is rice shaped into triangles] The waiter nodded once again before leaving the table. Lucy's attention turned to Natsu when he spoke up again.

"Luce, what do you think happened to our other clothes?" The question was simple yet intelligent since they appeared in these clothes as soon as they arrived.

"Well, knowing Deox-chan, I think she would've transported them to our houses at least so that we'd have them, just not on us for the rest of the evening."

"Yeah, she's always seemed really smart, so she probably thought this whole thing through and used her magic to make it happen." Lucy blinked in surprise; Natsu was making some intellectual comments?

"Y-yeah, which is probably why no one questioned us as to why we were sitting at a table even though we just magically appeared here." Natsu nodded in agreement, and Lucy decided to start up the conversation again on a different, yet related, topic.

"Natsu, what do you think about the new members?" The waiter put the onigiri down on the table while leaving without a word. Natsu grabbed a curry filled one before replying.

"Well, as a whole, I think they're pretty cool. Sure, they're rough around the edges, but four out of the five of them are completely new to the guild even though only two of them look out of place." Lucy concurred with a slight nod of her head before adding her own thoughts.

"It seems like they still have so many secrets untold. I mean, yesterday, Devi silenced Castor when he was in the middle of saying something and then Castor did the same thing to Angelica. But there was a pattern, every time one of the members shushes another, it always seems to have something to do with Devilily, don't you think so as well?" Lucy said while grabbing a plain onigiri and taking a bite out of it. Natsu, already on his third onigiri, responded after swallowing.

"Sure, I guess, never really thought about it much." Lucy sighed and sweat-dropped as Natsu plowed through all of the curry flavored onigiri and had started munching on the plain ones as well. At least he's back to being his usual idiotic self, Lucy thought to herself. Lucy let the subject drop as she continued to eat her appetizer, or what remained of it. Out of the ten pieces, Natsu had eaten seven, and possibly an eighth had Lucy not snatched it and stuffed into her mouth so that she could at least have three. Natsu complained and Lucy almost choked from laughing with food in her mouth. Natsu slammed her on her back so that she didn't choke but instead had minor back pains.

It was then that their main meals arrived, and Natsu got starry-eyed again as he ate his food. Since Lucy ate slower than Natsu, he offered to help her finish off her dinner by eating some of it, and Lucy, as a joke, stuffed a heaping fork full in to his mouth causing him to almost choke. Lucy laughed while hitting Natsu on the back (which didn't faze him in the slightest). Sure, the people around them were disgusted by the display, but the two partners had a fun time.

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><p>As Lucy and Natsu were walking back to Lucy's place, they decided to stop at the Sakura tree grove to gaze at the stars. Lucy was pointing out different constellations to Natsu who was listening, but not intently. After Lucy had shivered for the umpteenth time in the past half-an-hour, Natsu decided to comment.<p>

"Lucy, are you cold?" Natsu asked looking Lucy up and down. The outfit she was wearing wasn't designed to be thermal, just pretty.

"N-no, not really." Lucy replied while looking away to hide her flushed face that had turned red to help prevent the cold. Natsu sighed.

"Luce, you're shivering like you were on Mount Hakobe where it was snowing." Natsu said while putting an arm around Lucy and bringing her into his body warmth. Lucy blushed from more than the cold.

"Thanks, Natsu." He smiled even though she couldn't see it.

"What friends are for, Luce." The two gazed back at the stars and saw some fireworks going off. Both of their faces showed confusion.

"Is tonight supposed to be a celebration, or something?" Lucy asked and Natsu shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe someone just decided to set them off for fun?" He replied and Lucy huffed in annoyance.

"It ruins the view of the stars." Natsu glanced down at the celestial-spirit mage. Her brown eyes were still gazing off into the distance at the fireworks while her mouth formed a slight frown. She wasn't shivering anymore, but that's because Natsu is a natural heater due to his fire magic. Natsu looked back at the sky while his free hand began to reach for Lucy's hand. Just as their fingers brushed against one another's, Lucy started getting up.

"Well, since the view is ruined, I think I'm going to go home now, Natsu." Natsu slowly stood up after her while nodding.

"I'll walk you home." He said with his usual grin and Lucy smiled back. Natsu began to walk away but stopped abruptly when he felt something warm and small in his hand. He looked down to see Lucy's hand within his own. He looked at the blonde mage to see her looking away from him with an unnoticeable blush adorning her face.

"You wanted to hold hands, right?" Natsu smiled before leading Lucy back home who also had a smile. The two talked about random funny things all the way back, and got yelled at a few times for being a bit too loud. The two laughed when they got scolded, but continued to be loud, if not louder, just to prove that were going to have fun and be who they are whether or not other people like it. When they reached Lucy's house, Lucy took her hand back from Natsu's in order to fiddle with the keys to her door. When she finally opened the door, she turned to say goodbye to Natsu when she was embraced by the fire dragon-slayer. After a few more moments, Natsu pulled away with his usual grin and a small blush that was unseen due to the lack of light.

"I had fun today, Luce! Thanks for inviting me shopping!" Lucy smiled back at him.

"Yup, thanks for going with me. See you tomorrow at the guild!" With that last comment, Natsu bounded away towards his home with Lucy staring after him until he was out of sight. She sighed before shivering of the cold. She missed her automatic heater already.

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><p><strong>AN: And that's it! A lot of fluff was in this chapter, but I hope that it was still enjoyable for you readers! Anyways, the next chapter is a set-up chapter for the next few, so it may feel like a filler, but it's still important to read nonetheless! A lot of information is given since it is in preparation for what is yet to come. As always, any and all reviews are appreciated and constructive criticism is welcome! I bid you all a good day! ;)<strong>


	7. Chapter 6: The Questions

**AN: I'm back with a new chapter once again! Like I mentioned in the previous chapter, this is a set-up chapter, and you'll understand why once you read it. Anyways, I thank all of my readers for the motivation to continue writing and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail, which belongs to Hiro Mashima**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 6: The Questions<span>**

**-The Next Day, Fairy Tail Guild, Natsu's POV-**

Last night I had crashed as soon as I had reached my house. Shopping with Luce, no matter how fun, was exhausting. However, I woke up early this morning from a weird dream that I can't remember, all I know is that it was weird. I entered the guild with Happy like I usually do with a kick to the doors.

"Morning!" I shouted and everyone in the guild responded "Morning, Natsu and Happy!" Happy immediately flew over to the other exceeds upon entrance. I looked to the bar and saw Lucy sitting in her usual spot while laughing with Levy. The sound of Lucy's laugh resounded throughout the guild before singing in my ears…wait, WHAT?! I shook my head to rid myself of such thoughts before bounding over to Lucy with my usual, cheerful grin.

"Hey, Luce, I was thinking of going on a mission tomorrow, want to come?" Luce turned and smiled at me while Levy left saying that she wanted to continue to read her book in the far corner (where a certain Iron-bastard was).

"Sure, Natsu, what type of job, and with whom?" She asked in her usual cheery tone.

"I was thinking of a mission that involves fighting." Lucy rolled her eyes before nodding.

"I'm going to assume with our usual team?" She inquired and I smiled.

"As long as they all agree." She smiled before getting out of her seat and walking with me over to the request board. The job was to destroy monsters for a town for three nights with a really good pay of 500.000 J. That should be able to satisfy Lucy's rent for at least a month once we divide up the shares, right? Yeah, definitely. Luce and I then walked over to Happy to invite him to join us.

"Happy, want to go on a mission with us tomorrow?" I asked and Happy looked at me with a sympathetic look on his features.

"Gomen, Natsu, but I have a date with Charle tomorrow." ["Gomen" means "Sorry"] I was about to respond when Lucy beat me to it.

"That's alright, Happy, and good luck!" He smiled.

"Aye, Sir!" Lucy and I then left to go ask Popsicle Face if he wanted to come.

Lucy ended up doing most of the talking since she didn't want the two of us brawling. Understandable. Gray ended up declining our request as well with a lot of evasive excuses, stuttering, and blushing. Totally not manly. Lucy and I wished him luck for whatever he was going to do tomorrow before moving on to the last member on our team, Erza.

"Erza, do you want to go on a mission with us tomorrow?" Her face dropped after Luce had asked.

"Sorry, but, tomorrow's Jellal's last day in town and I'd like to spend it with him." Lucy smiled and teased Erza a bit, but I was annoyed on the inside. What's with everyone going on dates?! Once we were far enough away from the first red-headed demon, the two of us sighed in unison before smiling at each other.

"Do you want to ask other people, or just go by ourselves?" Luce asked in a pleasant voice.

"I'm okay with it either way, but it's usually more fun with others." I exclaimed while giving her my usual grin, she smiled back at me before getting lost in thought again. It's easy to tell when Luce is thinking deeply; her blonde eyebrows furrow together, her chocolate brown eyes dart back and forth while staring at space, her nose wrinkles a bit, and she bites her lip…wait, how come I notice all of this?!

"Natsu," Lucy started jolting me from my mental debate to listen.

"Do you want to ask Deox-chan and her friends if they'd want to join us?" Since the battle was still raging within my mind along with some odd thought, I didn't trust my voice and just gave Luce a grin instead. She got the message and started walking towards Ange and Cody with me in tow. Because my brain felt like it was getting set on fire but I couldn't eat it, I didn't do any talking and I barely managed to hear their conversation.

"Ange-chan, Cody, do you guys want to go on a mission with Natsu and I tomorrow?" Angelica looked like she was about to cry but managed to answer Luce without bawling.

"Gomen, Lucy-chan! We'd love to, but—" She couldn't hold it together and just got up and hugged Lucy fiercely while Cody finished explaining their situation.

"Regrettably we decided a couple of days ago to go on a sightseeing date and made a few expensive reservations in advance." Again, what's with everyone and dates tomorrow?! Lucy said that it was alright while trying to calm Ange down by lightly patting her head. When the little angel was calmer, she promised Lucy to go on the next mission with us before sealing it with a pink-promise. Luce smiled before her and I left the couple to talk to Deoxies who was now visible in our view.

Deox was sitting on a bar stool while sipping on what looked like a mixed-berry smoothie. She had a distant look in her ever-changing, multi-colored eyes, and her head rested on her hand. When Luce got into Deoxies's line of vision, Deox was jerked from whatever thought she was in to pay attention to my partner. When I got closer to Deoxies, my head seemed to clear and I decided to ask the question for Lucy.

"Deox, do you want to go on a mission with us tomorrow?" Deoxies looked back and forth between Luce and I before replying.

"What's tomorrow's date?" Lucy put her finger to her chin while looking up to search her memory.

"I believe it is October 20th, why?" Deoxies pouted after a minute of thought.

"Sorry, but unfortunately I have a meeting with some universal spirits tomorrow that'll last for three days." Lucy's and my faces dropped. If anyone other than out usual team could go, we were kind of hoping that it'd be Deox.

"However, I think that Devi and Castor are free." Luce and I glanced around the guild for the flame-head and black-head, but there was no sign of them anywhere. We turned back to Deox with confusion written on our facial features while she was biting back a smile. "They decided to stay at the house and train this morning. I can take you there." Deoxies said while hopping off the stool and striding out of the guild. Luce and I looked at each other before running after her.

**-Life & Death Illusion's "House," Lucy's POV-**

Natsu, Deox-chan, and I are currently standing outside Deox-chan's and her friends' house. Wait, scratch that, mansion. Its freaking huge! Natsu and I stood at the gate entrance with our mouths hanging open and eyes bulging. I half noticed Deox-chan staring at us in confusion, but the majority of my attention was focused on the estate.

It was a two story building built out of a gray stone marbled with black and white. The roofing was pitch-black while the frames for all the windows and doors were white. The main entrance was two large, dark mahogany doors with what looked like door-knockers made out of precious metals. Just in case the mansion alone isn't outstanding enough, there had to be an immense garden in front of it with a wide variety of bizarre plants to liven up the grayscale mansion with colors. It was a mystery to me of how such exotic plants could survive in one place, but I guess when five powerful mages live in the house, anything's possible. To finish off the grandiose estate, an artistic fence surrounds the property with intricate designs which were made out of several expensive materials, some of which I cannot name.

"What are you two staring at?" My attention snapped back to Deox-chan when she inquired this, but I could still feel my mouth hanging open. I quickly peeked at Natsu and saw that he was in a similar situation.

"Deox-chan, the five of you live in this big mansion?" I asked and Deox-chan blinked blankly.

"Yes."

"How much does it cost?" Deox-chan thought for a moment before answering.

"It costs about 150.000 J per month." I felt something inside me crack and crumble to dust. How could something this colossal and elaborate be so cheap?! And, knowing Deox-chan, the inside is most likely just as spectacular.

"How can this ginormous mansion be so cheap?!" I exclaimed and Deox-chan turned away while blushing.

"W-well, you see, we kind of…use our magic to conceal it, and the property costs 50.000 J per month, but we worked our magic so that the house looks like it's worth 100.000 J to those we wish to fool. We prefer to call ourselves frugal." That is the most brilliant and evil idea I have ever heard. Well, I guess that they are using their magic to their best abilities.

"Anyway, let's get back to the main reason we're here. Come along." Deox-chan stated while walking along the strait, stone walkway from the gate, through the front garden, to the entry door. As we were walking thought, I looked around and saw plants from a vast range of climates.

"Deox-chan, how'd you get such a variety of plants form multiple climates in one place?" I questioned while Natsu kept looking around and Deox-chan answered.

"One part of Castor's magic is called 'Living magic' which enables him to grow plants anywhere, but without their proper climate and soil, they'd die after a few minutes. So, Cody and I cultivated the soil properly while Castor used his worldly magic to adjust the climate around the different plants." I made an understanding noise so that Deox-chan would know that I got what she was saying. By this time, we had reached the entrance and Deox-chan whipped out a rainbow colored key from nowhere and opened the doors. She turned to Natsu and me while smiling.

"I welcome you to our team's house."

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><p>Remember how I said that Deox-chan would make sure that the inside was just as incredible as the outside? Well, I wasn't kidding. As soon as the three of us walked through the threshold of the front entrance, it was like I had stepped into another world. In front of us was a really long hallway that was wide enough to fit three Elfmans comfortably right next to each other. The upper walls were a pale lavender color with a silver break line about two-thirds down from the ceiling while the bottom third was a beige oak wood.<p>

As we walked through the corridor, for every door or other hallway we passed, Natsu acted like a curious little kid and asked Deox-chan "where does that go?" Deox-chan, bless her patience, kindly explained each room, hallway, closet, or anything else, to Natsu. Eventually, we arrived at the end of the passage which split into three doorways. Deox-chan explained briefly that they were the three training rooms before entering the one on the left where loud crashing noises were coming from.

When we entered, we were greeted by a tremendous surprise. There were two blurs, one red and black the other yellow and gray, flashing through the gym. Yes, the training "room" is a gym, but that's not important right now. The two blurs were zipping around the gym, and when they crossed, sparks flew with series of clashing noises before parting. Every once in a while, I managed to catch a hazy glimpse of the two blurs' figures, but only when they paused momentarily to assess the situation before launching into action again.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang after everything went dark. When the darkness cleared, Devilily stood in front of us with her left hand out (sort of like a force palm) while her right hand held a one-sided black sword with a red-diamond pattern, backwards. Castor, on the other hand, was all the way across the gym and had created a shattered indent within the wall while holding a short-handled double battle axe. I felt an enraged aura to my right and saw Deox-chan pissed off before snapping her fingers. Immediately, Devilily's weapon disappeared as well as the dark magic surrounding her while Castor's battle axe vanished and he was expelled from the wall while it repaired itself. I heard Natsu whistle, which I didn't know he could do.

"That's some impressive magic." I nodded in agreement to Natsu's statement. Deox-chan, however, wasn't impressed and still emitted her furious aura.

"I thought I told you two _not_ to destroy the gym." Deox-chan growled in a low, menacing tone.

"Well, this is the MAGIC gym where we can PRACTICE MAGIC in more real-life situations. Besides, Castor and I always repair any damage we cause after we're done." Devi retorted back which seemed to make Deox-chan more livid, but before she could say anything back, a new voice spoke up.

"What the hell, Devs?! I thought we agreed on not using our dominant hand!" Castor shouted while striding over to Devi with a heated glare.

"We agreed on not using WEAPONS in our dominant hand, not disabling our dominant hand." Castor grumbled in response while Devi got a smug look on her face.

"Alright, enough. We have two guests that would like to speak with the two of you, so behave dammit!" Deox-chan shouted while turning to go out the door.

"Very well, _mother Deoxies_." Deox-chan turned and gave the two recent fighters the finger before turning back to Natsu and I.

"I'm going to my room to prepare for my meeting. The cancellation of magic will last for another fifteen minutes. Have a good day, Lucy and Natsu." Natsu and I waved to her with a smile while internally I was screaming_ No, don't leave us with these two!_

"You're going to meet with spirits of the universe, again? Have fun!" Castor teased to Deox-chan whiles he and Devilily got themselves towels to wipe of their sweat. Deox-chan gave him a malicious grin.

"Screw you, too, Castor." She stated in a sickly-sweet voice before turning on her heels and leaving. The two of them walked over to us while still wiping their faces.

"You guys want to sit down while we talk?" Castor asked in a more pleasant tone than he used before.

"Sure, which one of your sitting rooms do you want—" Natsu stopped talking when Devi held up one of her hands.

"Castor meant here since us sweaty people cannot sit on furniture or else shall face the wrath of the angel." I tried picturing Angelica angry and only saw a very cute red angel that attempted to be ferocious but was failing, miserably. I had to cover my mouth to prevent myself from surging with laughing at the thought, and I happened to glance over at Natsu to see him bursting at the seams with laughter. After several minutes of his outburst, we all eventually sat down on the gym floor.

"Anyways, Deox said that you two wanted to talk to us, what about?" Devilily asked in a monotonous voice and Natsu decided to respond to her question with one of his own.

"Are you two free tomorrow to go on a mission with us?" The two looked at each other before Devi answered.

"Yeah, what's the job?" I handed her the request. While she and Castor looked over it, I took in what the two were wearing. Castor was wearing a gray muscle shirt with the word "LIVING" on it in light gray, dark gray track pants with two bright yellow stripes going down his legs, yellow sneakers, his usual lightning bolt pedant on a chain necklace, and gray fingerless gloves.

Devilily had tied her long, curly flame-red hair back in a ponytail and she was wearing a red cut-off shirt with the word "NIGHTMARE" written in dark red on it, black track-pants with two bright red stripes down her legs, red sneakers, black fingerless gloves, and her usual red diamond-shaped pendant on a black chain necklace.

It was also during this time that I clearly saw how well built the two of them were. Castor's muscular figure was built in between Natsu's and Gajeel's builds (in other words, very well-toned). Devilily had a more athletic figure with slightly bulging muscles that still made her look feminine. I've never noticed their builds before because they both wear long, somewhat baggy, dark clothes that hide their figures. My attention snapped back to reality when Castor spoke up.

"Sounds interesting, we're in. Do you guys want to meet up at eight o'clock tomorrow morning?"

"That early?!" I screamed. Usually, I wake up for missions around nine, nine-thirty since the meeting time with Erza is ten o'clock, but eight is _way_ _too early_.

"Well, yeah. I wake up around five, typically, and Castor usually wakes up around six, six-thirty." Natsu and I stared at the two in shock after Devi said this. The same thought ran through both of our minds… _they aren't human!_ However, since it was two vs. two and Devi and Castor would probably overpower us if it came down to a fight, Natsu and I grudgingly agreed to the eight o'clock meeting.

"Well, now that that's settled, I think it's about time for Natsu and me to leave in order to relax for a bit before getting ready for the mission. See you guys tomorrow if not later today?" I explained while getting off the floor and the rest of them following suit.

"Here, we'll show you guys out since it's easy to get lost in this unfamiliar house." Castor said while leading the way out of the gym with Devilily right behind him. Natsu and I exchanged looks before hurrying after them.

"Did someone in your group get lost before?" I asked once we had left the gym, and Devi and Castor exchanged looks.

"Yeah, Ange got lost several times before when we originally got this place. It was quite funny, especially the first time because she got lost from going from her room to the linen's closet upstairs where the doors are right next to each other; remember that, Castor?" Devilily explained to Natsu and I while an amused twinkle glinted in her ruby red eye and Castor began laughing at the memory. Wait a second…AMUSED?! I thought Devilily was emotionless! Then again, her facial expression, when she briefly shows her amusement, was still expressionless. I smiled to myself; it's good that she's showing more emotions to people, even though it's only in her eye. Natsu, had a bored look on his face, but decided to ask another unrelated, question.

"Do you guys train like that every day?"

"Basically, or in a similar fashion because sometimes we train without magic, or build up our stamina with magic. But, yeah, we train every day, why?" Castor answered while looking sideways back at Natsu who shrugged with a renewed, excited gleam in his eyes.

"That's pretty impressive, but why go so hard?"

"Habit, we've done this routine for so long that now it's a part of us, and we do it now for fun rather than more so for survival." Devilily answered monotonously with a shrug of her shoulders in order to add to her nonchalant attitude. Castor looked slightly shocked for a fleeting second before nodding in agreement with her. By this time, we had reached the front entrance where Natsu and I said our goodbyes to Devilily and Castor before leaving their mansion. I'm beginning to look forward to this mission.

** -Later that Day, Fairy Tail Guild, Mirajane's POV-**

Natsu and Lucy came back an hour or so after leaving with Deoxies-chan. Apparently, they've been asking people to go on a mission with them and Deoxies-chan took them to see Devilily and Castor-kun to ask them. Natsu left Lucy to go pick a fight with Gray while Lucy strode over to the bar where I was cleaning a glass cup.

"Hey, Mira, how are you today?" Lucy asked me and I smiled at her.

"I'm doing fairly well, how about you?" She replied with something similar to what I had said. I decided to voice a question that's been on my mind for a while now.

"Hey, you've also probably figured out that Angelica-chan and Cody-kun are going out, but what do you think about Devilily and Castor-kun?" Lucy gave me an annoyed look.

"Mira, you're not supposed to do any meddling with matchmaking for an entire week." I pouted.

"I know that, but I'm not meddling, simply inquiring." Lucy huffed and eyed me suspiciously before telling me her thoughts.

"I do believe that they are closer to each other than others, but I don't get the vibe that they're in a relationship from them." A frown formed on my face when Lucy was elucidating this belief. I agree with it. There is definitely a sense of closeness between them like they know many secrets about one another and have been through a lot, but a relationship isn't being illustrated. It was at this moment that Deoxies-chan reentered the guild and gave everyone a "hello" before joining Lucy and my conversation.

"Hey, Mira-san, Lucy, how are you guys?" She asked and I gave her a smile while preparing her the mixed berry smoothie that she has come to love.

"I'm good, Deox-chan, are you already done packing for your meeting?" Lucy answered while I continued to prepare the smoothie.

"Yup, since it doesn't take much time to do so. How'd it go with Devi and Castor?"

"Great, actually, they both agreed to join Natsu and I so we're meeting at eight o'clock tomorrow morning to leave." I had just finished the smoothie just as Lucy had said this so I quickly brought it over to Deox-chan in order to insert my question while they were relatively close to the topic that the question was about.

"Hey, Deoxies-chan, are Devilily and Castor-kun in a relationship?" I inquired just as Deoxies-chan took a swig of her smoothie. Her eyes widened in surprise while she spit out the drink onto the guild counter just barely missing Lucy and I.

"W-what?!" She spluttered with a small blush dusting her cheeks.

"I asked if Devi—" I started again but was cut-off by Deoxies-chan.

"No, I understood that, but what gave you such a ludicrous idea?"

"Well, they do spend a lot of time together and they seem to be really close when they talk and that." Deoxies-chan's shoulders visibly relaxed a bit as she continued to drink her smoothie.

"They are close, but I highly doubt that they're in a relationship. I've known them for about seven years, and during that time, I haven't seen a change in behavior between them to signify that they feel something more for one another." Deoxies-chan explained while looking at her drink. Lucy and I nodded in agreement to this.

"So, does this mean that you don't know completely what they are to each other?" Lucy asked Deoxies-chan who was taking a sip from her drink.

"Yeah, Devi is talented at erecting barriers that disable me from reading any situations that have to do with her, but I can make educated guesses based on what I've seen and/or heard." Devilily and Castor-kun entered the guild at this time cutting off our conversation. Devilily looked over at us and gave a knowing look which made Deoxies-chan shiver. Castor went off to go hang out (aka brawl) with the guys while Devilily deliberately walked directly at Deoxies-chan.

"So, I heard that you guys were talking about me." Devilily monotonously stated which sent shivers down Lucy's and my spines. How had she known that we were talking about her?

"Damn you and your ominous feelings." Deoxies-chan muttered and Devilily gave her a complacent smile.

"It's your own fault if you already knew about them. I sincerely hope, for your sake, that you weren't giving away too much information about me without my permission?" Deoxies-chan turned to look at the flame-head, and I could no longer read her expression.

"No, I was telling them different observations that I've made about you." The evil smirk on Devilily's face grew before she walked away from us to the other red-head in the guild. Deoxies-chan let out a sigh of relief.

"Is Devilily really that scary, I mean, I can tell that she'd be a formidable foe when she's angry, but is she really that bad that it even makes you shiver?" I asked in a pleasant tone to Deoxies-chan who looked back and forth from me to Lucy and back to me.

"Yeah, she really is. She is the most underestimated person in our group." I raised an eyebrow in question at her; Deoxies-chan noticed and elucidated her meaning. "Well, look at all of our members; you can basically gauge their skills, right? Now look at Devi, you can't tell a damn thing because she is a pro at deceiving people."

What she was saying was true. I was looking around the room and could estimate how well I'd do against everyone based on my current level of ability. Some were more difficult than other, but it was overall fairly easy. However, when I got to Devi, I drew a blank. All I could tell is that she is powerful, but I don't know how powerful. I glanced at Lucy and saw her in the same predicament.

"She's the current second most powerful person in our group for a reason. And, what's even scarier is that if we were to go back in time and remove the magic types that we were 'given' and basically only went on the magic abilities that we were born with, Devilily would be the most powerful person in our group." The thought shivers down our spines, and when we looked at Deoxies-chan's face Lucy's and my hearts stopped beating and dropped to our stomachs. Several unnameable emotions swirled across Deoxies-chan's face, and none of them were optimistic.

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><p><strong>-Normal POV-<strong>

The evening continued without a hitch, and when Deoxies announced that she was going to be leaving for about three days in order to meet with various spirits of the universe, the guild threw a "Come back soon" party in the honor. The reason for the party was kind of pointless since everyone just basically got drunk. When Cana tried to give Deox some beer, she was blatantly refused by the girl saying that if she drank alcohol the universe could implode by accident. Nobody tried to give her alcohol again.

Angelica ended up getting drunk from one beer that someone slipped her without her consent and ended up flopping over in her seat saying that white feathers were falling with golden clocks…or something strange like that. Cody ended up taking her home early after having only a sip of beer himself. Cana wanted a rematch with Devilily which Castor and Natsu joined in as well, but they all ended up passing out with Devi only slightly tipsy. Lucy ended up taking Natsu back to her house while Devi took Castor back to the team's house as well. The two females bid each other farewell for tomorrow before heading in different directions from the guild.

Deoxies ended up staying really late partying since she wanted to enjoy everyone that was left's company. She chatted with the females and got involved in the males' fight when a beer barrel smacked her head. Meanwhile, Erza's cake ended up getting smashed by a few idiots causing her to become very livid. The night ended with Erza and Deox blowing up at the same time causing everyone to be knocked unconscious and the guild's state to be a complete disaster. Everyone had fun that evening.

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><p><strong>AN: And, done! Sorry for updating a bit late (I tend to prefer updating on Saturdays). However, the set-up is completed and the next chapter will be the starting of the job. Thank you for reading and I wish you all a great day! ;)<strong>


	8. Chapter 7: The Night Mission (Part 1)

**AN: And I'm back with the start of the mission for Natsu, Lucy, Castor, and Devilily! I thank all of the readers for their support and in the hopes that it'll continue! I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail, which belongs to Hiro Mashima.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: The Night Mission (Part 1)<strong>

**-The Next Day, Magnolia Train Station, Eight o'clock am, Normal POV-**

"They're late!" Devilily shouted to no one in particular; she was gazing out to the city from atop a resting bench in the station. Castor, who was sitting on the bench that Devi was standing on, sighed in exasperation.

"Well, we were the ones who picked an early time. Besides, the longer they take, the more my headache will wear off." Castor grumbled the last bit under his breath, but Devi still caught it.

"And whose fault is that that you just _had_ to participate in the drinking contest when you know that Cana and I are good drinkers?" Castor made a sound with his teeth at the remark. He gazed out at the town and then at Devi before going back to the town.

"You should get some more sleep, Cas; it's obvious that you haven't been getting enough." He made another "tch" sound with his teeth while rolling his eyes.

"Shut up, I know that, but I can't do anything about it."

"I know, and I'm sorry." Devi whispered in a softer tone, causing Castor to look up at her. Her ruby-red left eye had a distant look to it while the morning sunlight outlined her figure. Just as Castor was about to reply that it wasn't her fault, he spotted two sprinting figures barreling straight towards them. The two waiting mages rolled their eyes at who they were before hopping off the bench. Castor briefly glanced at Devi which almost caused him to get run into, but his reflexes allowed him to create a solid wall of rock directly in front of him causing Natsu to slam into it while Lucy slammed into Natsu. Devi managed to dodge the oncoming wizards just before they were going to slam into her.

"Now that you guys are here, let's go get on the train, already." Devilily stated while walking towards the train that would take the group to their destination. The other three quickly scrambled after the flame-head and boarded the train just as it was about to leave.

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><p><strong>-The Train Ride, Lucy's POV-<strong>

We managed to find a large booth before the train lurched into motion causing Natsu to get motion sickness. I was sitting next to him with Natsu near the window while Devilily and Castor sat in the same booth and Castor was across from me allowing Devi to have the window seat. The train began to move and Natsu hung his head out the window with sickness. Devi, noticing the direction that the train was moving would cause any of Natsu's puke to head in her direction from out the window, immediately shut her window before gazing out at the scenery. I was rubbing comforting circles on Natsu's back while looking at the two across from me.

Both of them only had one bag that was the size of a medium backpack. Devi's was in the form of a black messenger bag with crisscrossing dark red belts that crossed just below a bright red diamond-shape on her bag. From the somewhat worn, but cared for state it was in, I could tell that Devi liked the bag a lot. Castor had a dark gray duffel bag with a bright yellow lightning bolt and light gray storm cloud on it for a design. I must've been wearing a confused look on my face because Castor took one look and gave me his troublemaker's grin.

"We used our magic to expand the space within our bags while keeping their shape. In actuality, these are pretty heavy, especially Dev's. She packed _way_ too many books—" he was cut off by one of those "too many books" smacking him directly in the face while the devil continued to stare out the window. When Devilily removed the book from Castor's face, there was a huge red mark on his forehead, nose, and chin from where the novel made impact. "Ouch! What the hell was that for, Devs?!" He screeched at the flame-head who peered at him through the corner for her eye.

"It is for being an unappreciative idiot who doesn't comprehend the value of the various works of literature." Castor mumbled something incomprehensible under his breath. He pulled out a personal music lacrima and plugging in his headphones before closing his eyes. Devilily became engrossed in her novel and sometimes scribbling something down in a worn, black-leather journal. Well, there goes my idea of attempting to start a conversation with the two of them. I looked back at Natsu and saw that he wasn't faring so well. I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Natsu, do you want to lay on my lap?" I asked in a kind tone and he turned towards me.

"H-hai." He squeaked before setting his head down on my thighs and drifting off to sleep. His spikey pink hair was tickling my thighs even though they were surprisingly soft. His peaceful sleeping face was cute like a young boy's, and his body heat was so warm. I stroked my fingers through his pink locks while looking up to get my bag in order to grab a book to read. However, when I looked up, Devi had raised her only visible left eyebrow in question at my actions towards Natsu before going back to her book. I kind of appreciate that she didn't question anything.

For about an hour we continued like that, everyone in complete silence and entertaining themselves in their own ways. Somewhere along the lines Castor had woken up and commenced tossing a hacky-sack in the air before catching it with one hand then the other. However, his game ended when the sack accidentally hit Devi who then proceeded in throwing it out the window. This started an argument between the two, and, unfortunately, I was in no position to even endeavor at stopping them. Their quarrel was interrupted when Natsu groaned signaling that he was awake.

"I-I h-have t-to us-se the bath-throom-m." I rolled my eyes, and Devilily and Castor looked down at Natsu in disbelief.

"Can you go by yourself?" I inquired and Natsu shook his head. Devi and I immediately looked at the only other boy in our group, Castor. His dark gray eyes widened in shock before shaking his head vigorously.

"Why are you two looking at me to take Ash-face to the restroom?!" I face palmed at this while Devi rolled her eye.

"Because, Cas, you're the only other guy, and in case you didn't know already, girls can't go in the guys' restroom. It's undignified if we do." The black-head groaned at this statement before proceeding in slinging Natsu's arm over his shoulders to carry him.

"Alright, let's make this quick, Pink-squeak." I overheard Castor grumble while striding away with Natsu. I looked across the seat to Devilily who had amusement dancing in her ruby-red left eye. She noticed my stare and turned back to me.

"You look like you want to ask me something." She stated in a flat, blunt tone which made me blink in surprise. How had she figured _that _out? I decided not to voice this inquiry in fear that it'd make me look less intelligent, and instead voiced what was on my mind.

"Pardon me for prying, but I, and several others, are wondering what your relationship with Castor is?" She let out a creepy laugh, and from the sound of it, I can tell that it isn't her actual laugh, just a fake.

"I figured it was something like that when I got an ominous feeling yesterday. Before I answer, which I will, why would you like to know?" She questioned while resting her chin on the back of her interlaced hands. Her face had a mischievous smirk while her eye glittered with trouble. It was scarier than when the few times I've seen her pissed-off. I gulped down the rising fear in my throat.

"W—well, we'd like to know in order to get to know you and Castor better. After all, you two are the most mysterious and secretive in your group." Her smirk dropped to a slight frown. I think I struck a depressing nerve.

"I apologize for our secrecy; it's just—please give us time, okay? Anyways, about your question, the name of Castor's and my relationship has never been lucidly defined. But, based on how we interact with one another, I can give you my belief of what our unspoken relationship is." I nodded while inching forward in my seat as Devi leaned closer in order to whisper her next words to me.

"I think that our relationship is, to Castor, I'm an advisor/counselor, training partner, best friend, that kind of thing. We're close due to some…similar circumstances, but we are not beyond the boundary of 'friends,' okay?" I nodded my head in comprehension. I jotted a mental note that Devi said what she thinks what Castor believes their relationship is, and not her own. I decided not to comment on it since she was already sharing more information than she'd probably prefer at the moment. However, when she spoke up again, I almost choked on my saliva.

"Speaking of relationships, what's yours with that Pink-headed moron? Out of pure curiosity, mind you, I don't want to intrude past a certain point. Therefore, you don't have to tell if you don't want to." She asked after retrieving her book from her bag and setting it, closed, on her lap. I felt my face heat up at the inquiry. It's only natural for her to ask since I divulged into her relationship, she might as well do the same for mine. I looked down at the skirt while I fiddled with the hem of it.

"Well, I don't exactly know, but I do know that we at least consider ourselves as partners, I think." Devilily nodded her head, and went back to reading her literary work. I let out a sigh of relief; thank Mavis that she was considerate enough to know not to push the matter any further. It was at that point in time that Castor had returned with a sick Natsu slung over his shoulders. The worldly mage was looking a little pale himself, so I didn't bother in asking what had happened in the bathroom, and I don't think I will ever _want_ to know. The rest of the train ride was in silence as I gazed out the window, Natsu rested with his head on my lap, Castor drifted-off with his music plugged-in, and Devi read her literature while scribbling something down into her journal.

* * *

><p><strong>-Destination (Norowareta Town), Afternoon, Castor's POV-<strong>

"WHAT KIND OF LOUSY PIECE OF SHIT IS THIS?!" I sighed at the devil's excruciatingly loud remark to nobody in particular outside the inn that we were provided with for the job. The motel was a piece of crap, but I didn't think that she'd be _this _offended by it. Let me back up and explain the situation.

Earlier, we arrived in this town called "Norowareta" for the mission, and we immediately went to the mayor who had sent the request. After receiving further details of the request, he had said that he had provided us with an inn to sleep in for free if we so choose to stay there. It turns out he was giving us the most cheapest and crappiest motel in the whole damn town. Calm down, Castor; don't explode like the devil, that'd only create further issues.

I snapped back to reality when I saw Devs going up to some random guy on the street and lifting him by the collar. I thought about stopping her, but I value my life and what she asked him made me smirk and interlock my hands behind my head.

"Where is the most expensive part of this damn town?!" The man hurriedly told her directions in a shaky voice, and Devi dropped him before storming off. I followed her nonchalantly, and even though of whistling to myself, but when I glanced back and saw the other two members of the group, it took all of my willpower not to roll on the ground laughing. Their faces were priceless! Bother of their eyes were wide, jaws halfway to the ground, bags had been released from their hands. They were mirror images of one another. However, being the cool guy that I am, I took on a sophisticated face and cleared my throat.

"What are you two gaping like fish at?" I asked in a flat tone with one of my black eyebrows raised in question. The two turned towards me.

"W-what—shouldn't we stop her from causing damage?" Lucy stuttered and I bit back a smirk. I turned around and relocked my hands behind my head again.

"Nah, she won't destroy anything. Besides, her rage will undoubtedly be in our favor. You guys coming?" The regarded one another before running to catch up with me. I closed my eyes and sensed Dev's magic. It was harder than usual, for some reason, but I shrugged it off; some places made magic react differently.

We caught up with the devil when she was a few blocks away from her destination and questioning yet another random townsperson. And, several gazillion townspeople later, we were all standing outside the largest, and most expensive, hotel in the entire town. I must admit, it was quite impressive, especially just coming from the slum of the town. While Lucy and Natsu continued to gape at the impressive building I took a sideways look at Devi and saw her fixing her hair a little and adjusting her clothes a bit. Afterwards, she walked to the doors and turned to glare at the three of us.

"None of you say a word until we get into our room, got that? I'll handle everything, but if someone asks for one of you to speak, Lucy," the said girl straightened her back in fear, "you will answer them in the most highly sophisticated tone you can manage, okay? Otherwise, dead silence." She emphasized her point by turning on her death glare before entering the hotel. I shoved my hands in my pockets before the three of us followed her to the front desk.

"Hello young misses and sirs, how may I help all of you?" The reception clerk asked in a polite manner but I could tell that he was wondering how the hell we'd pay for a luxury room when we're just a bunch of teenage brats? I had to mentally grin, I always love this part.

"Good day, kind sir, we'd like to stay about three nights at this hotel in a luxury suite with two master bedrooms each with two king sized beds and a full-sized bathroom accompanied by an quaint eating area, kitchen, and sitting room, if you'd please." Devs responded in her most polite and suck-up tone that was very intimidating if one doesn't know the devil very well. I've been through this drill before, and my favorite part was coming up.

"Of course, madam, and what shall be your method of payment?" The clerk got a knowing look in his hard eyes as if daring Devs to produce enough money for such an expensive room. Devilily whipped out a black and red card from nowhere and slid it across the counter for the clerk to review. When he picked it up, his eyes bulged as he looked back and forth between the card and Devilily. This was my favorite part, the pure shocking realization dawning on idiotic adults' faces. Priceless.

"I—I apologize, Miss Larmenoir, that I didn't recognize you sooner. Of course you may occupy the luxury suite. Here you go, the key for room 1379 on floor thirteen, and please, let us know if we can do anything to make your stay more comfortable." The reception clerk replied while genuinely smiling at Devilily who gave her political smile back.

"I thank you for your courtesy, my subordinates and I shall now retire to our room. Good day, kind sir." With that, Devs turned on her heals and started striding towards the elevator after signaling that we should pursue and receiving back her card and the key. The three of us followed her silently and when we had entered the elevator, we remained silent for thirteen floors. It seems the two were good at obeying Devi's orders…or not. Lucy had slapped a hand over Natsu's mouth to prevent him from speaking. I let out a nervous laugh while sweat-dropping at the sight. The elevator "dinged" and we trailed after the devil to room 1379.

Once we entered the room, I saw Natsu's jaw drop to the floor, but Lucy just stared wide-eyed at Devilily. I recall Deox mentioning something about Lucy's past, but I don't remember exactly what it was. Oh well, if it's important, it'll come to me eventually. "Before you guys even think of asking about what had just transpired, I recommend that we get comfortable by unloading our stuff while the males go out and get the things that are on this pre-made list for us while Lucy and I do any other finishing touches or whatnot. I'll explain everything over dinner; I'm tired from talking in such a polite tone." Devs directed before striding into one of the bedrooms. I shrugged at the two others before grabbing the Pink-squeak by the ear and dragging into the other room while Lucy entered the room that Devi was in.

Upon entering, I studied the room. Like Devs ordered, two plush king-sized beds each accommodated with a bedside table and a desk at the end of it. There was a bathroom to my right down a mini passage, and a sixty-inch lacrima screen within a mahogany entertainment center. I dropped Natsu on the floor, and walked over to the widow that had a view of the entire town spread below us. I let out a low whistle; the devil has come through once again.

Other than the entrance door that I had just walked through to enter the bedroom, there wasn't any other door except for the magic closet and bathroom. Natsu was currently checking out the magic closet and let out an impressed laugh when he saw the clothes that were provided in it. I sweat-dropped as I recalled the first time I had seen Devi's impressive ability to get into expensive hotels and saw what kind of room we'd be staying in. Of course, that was for our own survival, and at the time, I had no idea what the following day would've brought—

I shook my head to rid myself of such depressing and aggravating thoughts. Why am I thinking of that time now? I had a new life with a caring family of people who valued their nakama more than anything else in the whole world. I really need to stop getting wrapped up in the memories of _those _times. Natsu's voice jolted me from my thoughts.

"Oi, pointy-eyes, which bed do you want?" I felt a vein pop on my forehead at the nickname. He has pointy-eyes, too! That bastard.

"I'll take the bed closest to the door, Ash-brain." I saw/heard something snap, looks like I struck a nerve.

"You want to go, Sparky?" Oh no he did, NOT!

"Bring it, Pink-squeak!" Just as the two of us were about to beat each other senseless, the door to our bedroom slammed open revealing an enraged devil whose long red hair was wet and was only wearing black sweatshirt that barely covered her behind. There was a whip in her hand, and I recognized that whip. I gulped down the slowly rising fear, that was her "Whip of the Demon," and it was excruciatingly painful. I speak from experience.

"And _what_ do the two of you THINK you're doing?" She inquired in a low, menacing tone while brandishing her weapon. Natsu and I started sweating bullets.

"Nothing, we were just having some time to get to know each other, right, Natsu?" I said in a nervous tone while staring directly into Devi's left eye that was dancing with flames.

"A—aye!" Natsu squeaked similar to his cat's—what's his name?—voice. It would've been hilarious if not for the current situation. Devi didn't look amused, or if she did, it wasn't for our benefit.

"Oh, really, if that's the case then why your guys' were fist drawn back as if ready for a punch after shouting some provoking words to one another?" The malicious glint in her eye told me that there was no way that we were getting out of this one. However, Natsu continued to keep up with the façade, at least he's got the most stupid guts to continue on with the devil.

"Friendly greeting, you know, between males." Devilily de-summoned her whip and I actually thought that she might believe us, but that only lasted a moment.

"So that's what it was, then you won't mind my 'friendly' greeting for males who IRRITATE ME!" Let the pain commence, but I'll spare you of the misery. Just know that the devil struck again leaving two males on the brink of death with hoarse voices from screaming and swollen bodies from the beat-down given. I think I prefer her whip.

* * *

><p><strong>-Expensive Hotel, Devilily's POV-<strong>

I walked out of the males' room feeling very satisfied after completely depleting my anger from earlier with the crappy hotel situation. I have standards, and when those standards aren't met, I blow a fuse. When it comes to hotels and/or apartments, I make sure that if what we're provided with doesn't meet my standards, I'll get what I want by going to the top.

I walked back into the females' room to be greeted with the sight of Lucy just walking out of the bathroom with steam billowing around her and a thin towel covering her body. I blinked blankly before walking over to my stuff and putting on nicer dark jeans. I removed my now soaked sweatshirt from my long hair before tying my hair back in a sloppy bun.

"Hey, Devilily, what was the racket I just heard while in the shower? It sounded like someone was screaming." I answered her while grabbing a nicer shirt out of the magic closet.

"Oh, that? I was taking care of some, ah, miscreants. Sorry to ruin your pleasant shower." She waved it off with a smile. She strode over next to me and starting skimming through outfits to wear. I pulled on a one-shoulder black blouse similar to a toga style with a draping sleeve and a ruby diamond-shaped pin on the shoulder. I put on my usual jewelry before getting ready to walk back out of the room to give the guys the shopping list. However, Lucy's voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Out of curiosity, what bra size are you?" I almost lost my emotionless exterior while I also bit back a stutter.

"I'm sorry, did you just ask what my bra size is?" I took all of my willpower to keep the shock out of my voice. Lucy looked over to me and nodded while putting on the finishing touches to her outfit. "Again, I'm sorry, but I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your inquiry, but I can tell you that it is most definitely smaller than yours." She gave me a kind smile that I acknowledged before striding out of the females' bedroom. That was one of the weirdest conversations I've ever had.

Both of the males were in the lounge room sacked on plush chairs with damp hair and new outfits. Natsu was wearing a red T-shirt with dragon wings on the back and gray sweatpants while his salmony-pink hair was still spikey. I'll admit that was a pretty impressive feat, but he may have dried it with his magic. Castor, on the other hand, was wearing a neon yellow hoodie with a gray lightning bolt on it and gray cargo pants; his hair was still a slightly damp black tangle. I swear he doesn't know what a hairbrush is.

"Hey, could you two go into town and buy these things for me? Thanks, oh, and before you start whining and complaining, it's either you buy me these ingredients and I cook you all dinner or we'll get take-out. Your choice." I turned on my heels with a smirk plastered on my face while hearing Castor in the background.

"Let's go, Ash-face, and get the supplies for the devil."

"Why can't we just get take-out?"

"Oh, you'll know why after tasting her cooking." I heard Castor drag Natsu out of the room by the ear, and just as he was about to exit, I tossed him a spare key to the room (which he caught in a show-off manner). I sauntered back into the bedroom and plopped down on my bed before reaching over to the telecom-lacrima and dialing for the front desk.

"Who're you calling?" Lucy asked in her pleasant voice and I looked up at her while waiting for the reception clerk to pick up.

"The front desk, there's something that I wish to—hello, this is the reception desk for the Satori Hotel?"

"Yes, and which guest might I have the utmost pleasure speaking to?" The clerk said in perfect clarity. Another plus about expensive hotels: amazing reception.

"I'm Devilily Larmenoir staying in room 1379; I have a request, if it isn't too much of a burden." I spoke in the most polite tone I could muster.

"O—of course, Miss Larmenoir, what may have the pleasure of assisting you with?" I grinned in my mind; this was the only good thing about my family name: complete and utter respect from all who know of it.

"Could you send one of your staff to collect all of the volumes pertaining to the history of this town from a nearby bookstore? The payment will be added to my card, please." There were muffled voices of the clerk giving orders to one of the staff members before affirming that the request will be delivered to my room within the hour while the method of payment will be accounted for when the staff returns. I gave my thanks before politely hanging up. I let out a tired sigh while flopping down on my bed. I hate talking politely to adults, it's stressful. Lucy's face appeared above mine and I raised one of my eyebrows in question.

"What was that all about?" She asked and I sighed again.

"I found it strange that the mission only had three nights instead of the requirement of until the job was completed. Didn't you find it odd?" She thought for a moment before nodding her head. I sat up causing her to sit properly on her bed. I reached over the edge of my bed and grabbed my messenger bag. I reached in and clearly visualized what books I wanted to appear in my grasp before pulling out about five thick, heavy, ancient books. Lucy looked at me with shocked eyes and I shrugged.

"These are various books about dark related events happening on this world as well as some cross-references to other various dark things in history. With these and the books I ordered about the history of this town, I should be able to get to the bottom of why the set amount of time." Lucy nodded at my explanation before getting a determined glint in her chocolate-brown eyes.

"I'll help in whatever way I can since I'm good at analyzing different literary compositions." She stated while whipping out her speed-reading glasses.

"Okay, then you'll start tackling the books I ordered, while I start looking at these." I stated while pointing to the dark books in front of me. She frowned.

"Why can't I start on those as well?" I flipped open to a random page of every novel and showed her the contents. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What language is that? I don't recognize it at all."

"They are various dark languages known only to extremely dark mages and/or dark figures. I don't think you should learn these languages since they are very dangerous." Lucy's eyes widened before nodding in agreement just as someone knocked on the door saying that they are delivering the books that were ordered. Lucy answered the door and received the books before hurrying back and began reading.

"What should I be looking for, specifically?" She asked while reading through the first book, and I was reading through my own.

"You are basically searching for anything that seems…unordinary and/or suspicious within those literary works. If you find anything like that, jot it down and it could possibly have a cross-reference from one of my books."

"Why do you think that it may have something relating to darkness?" She asked without looking at me while I continued reading.

"The name of the town, Norowareta, it means 'cursed'. I thought it was kind of weird to name a village something dark if it didn't have a dark history."

"That makes sense—oh! I think I found something—" Lucy started saying but stopped abruptly. I glanced over at her and saw her brown eyes bulging. Okay, this _really_ perked my interest. I raised a sole eyebrow in question while staring at the celestial spirit mage. She looked at me with tears rimming her eyes. If I didn't have such good control over my emotions, I would've been wearing shocked expression on my face. She showed me what was written on the page and, again, I'm thankful for my emotionless skills.

"_Three cursed nights rein on dark hours of the moon. Evil spirits rise from the abyssal place to corrupt this land. It is a dark and dangerous time._" I mumbled aloud to myself from the text. I knew that this place had something hell-related—These thoughts were cut off by Lucy coming over and hugging me. I patted her gently on her head for comfort since I have no idea how to comfort others. I'm good at listening and giving educated advice, yes, but not hugs. Normally, people would go to Ange or Deox for hugs and comfort, not me. I'm the Cursed One, embodiment of hell, and the very reason for fears and need of comfort. I glanced over Lucy at the book again, if there's something hell related mentioned in a history book then it is most definitely better defined in one of my dark books.

It was at this time that I heard the familiar click of the entrance to the hotel room being opened and I nudged Lucy. She got up and went to the bathroom, after quick thanks, in order to fix herself up. I sighed before going to greet the guys with some depressing news.

* * *

><p><strong>-Satori Hotel, Luxury Suite, Normal POV-<strong>

Devilily sauntered out of the females' bedroom in a red baggy sweatshirt with the word "ABYSSAL" written on the front in black letters since her original shirt was soiled from Lucy's tears. Castor glanced at her skeptically, but decided against asking the devil anything while Natsu was completely oblivious to the change. There were ten stuffed bags on the kitchen counter all filled with the supplies that Devi had ordered and plus a few extras for snacks.

"That didn't take you guys long at all." Devi commented monotonously while the two guys took their own triumphant poses. The hell mage only rolled her left red eye at this idiotic display.

"Of course not, who do you think we are?" Castor asked while giving his troublemakers grin before removing it. "Never mind, don't answer that." He smartly added as an afterthought. Devi nodded and started putting the supplies in the proper places throughout the kitchen. Castor sat on a stool looking at the cursed one lazily while Natsu looked around the suite.

"Devilily, where's Luce?" The latter mentioned girl stepped into the kitchen just as she was mentioned by the fire dragon-slayer with a wide grin on her face.

"I'm right here!" Lucy shouted in her usual up-beat tone and gave the inquiring boy a hug of "welcome back" before sending the red-head a quick glance. The devil noticed this and shook her head leaving a confused Castor and oblivious Natsu. Lucy looked at Castor and spread her arms out. Castor looked at her cynically before slouching back on the counter.

"I'm not a big fan of hugs." He stated in a bored tone and the celestial wizard pouted.

"You and Devi both don't like hugs, what's with that?" The two looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders in unison. The devil went back to putting things away while Lucy jotted a mental note in her mind.

"So, how'd the shopping trip go?" Lucy asked in an attempt to start a conversation. Natsu opened his mouth to start talking when the worldly mage cut him off.

"It would've been perfectly fine if Flame-brain here hadn't had destroyed the canned-goods section."

"That guy took the last spicy soup container just as I was about to grab it!" Natsu shouted back while Castor gave him a bored look and Lucy stared at both of them in disbelief.

"So? Choose a different soup then, and we could've bought the spices needed to remake the soup."

"But it wouldn't taste the same!" Natsu complained and the worldly one stood up to meet the fire dragon-slayer at a higher eye level. Just as he was about to explode on the pinkette, Lucy stepped in.

"Guys, don't fight over something so pointless! I mean, is the soup really that—"

"What was the name of it?" Devilily asked while resting her elbows on the counter and looking directly at Natsu while interrupting Lucy.

"I think it was—I don't remember. Could you remember for me, Quake-Freak?" A vein popped on Castor's forehead, but he didn't comment on the insult.

"I believe that it was 'Flame-o Chicken Soup.'" Devilily nodded at Castor before glancing back at Natsu.

"Did you want that for your dinner tonight?" She inquired and Natsu nodded vigorously.

"Fine, I'll make it for you. I've tasted it before, it's decent, but I can make it better. Now, GET THE HELL OUTTA MY KITCHEN!" She screeched causing an immediate effect of the three other mages quickly exiting the room and dashing into the lounge room.

* * *

><p><strong>-Satori Hotel, Luxury Suite Lounge Room, Castor's POV-<strong>

Lucy, Natsu, and I are still breathing heavily from sprinting three meters from the kitchen to the lounge room after the devil screeched at us. I think my heart is still beating this fast from the close proximity I was just in to Death. Then again, I didn't quite sense his presence, which, unfortunately, I'm quite familiar to after _that_ little excursion. Anyways, I pulled myself upright to on the super plush reclining chair to meet the expectant looks on the other two's faces. Uh-oh, I have a feeling of what's coming.

"Before you guys even ask, Devs has a law at home that the kitchen is hers, not that we go into it on a regular basis, and all who enter shall face her wrath. Therefore, since she technically is the one who purchased this room, the kitchen is hers and she'll torture all who dare to enter it." I summed up and the two nodded in understanding. Whew, one problem down, World knows how many more to go. I reclined back in the chair while waiting for the next question. Honestly, I don't think anything they could ask would surprise me—

"Castor, what do you think your relationship with Devi is?" Lucy innocently queried as I chocked on my own saliva and bolted upright. I began coughing heavily and Natsu came over and pounded me on the back for assistance. Luckily, I'm used to harsher back pounding from the devil, so no minor back pains for me! I then rethought about the question and felt a light dusting of heat flush my face. That is probably the only question that I didn't expect, but of course Lucy would ask it. I looked at her incredulously.

"What made you ask that?" I shot back in order to get a better understanding of where she was coming from so I didn't say anything unnecessary. She looked sidelong at Natsu and away from my steely gaze, not that I blame her.

"Well, I asked around earlier, like to Deox-chan, who said that she didn't fully understand your guys' relationship. And then I asked Devi who said that you probably thought of her as an advisor, training partner, friend, et cetera." I studied Lucy before leaning back in the chair and rubbing the heels of my hands against my forehead. To be completely honest, I've never really thought about our relationship in length for…years. Wow, it's been a while. The last time might've been _there_ but, then again, I never second guessed our bond of pretty good friends.

"I'd say that Devs is pretty close to the mark on what I think, did she say what she thought?" Lucy shook her head. I kind of anticipated that, Devi rarely tells anything about herself. It took me a while to get her to say her thoughts on various matters, and she doesn't do it often! I swear she locks more within in herself than Deox sometimes. It kind of makes me wonder—

"How long have you and the devil known each other?" Natsu questioned breaking me from my thoughts. I looked at the ceiling in contemplation.

"Hmm, about seven years, I think?" I said while still leaning back in the chair. It was comfortable. He got an excited gleam in his dark green eyes, and I kind of suspected what he was going to ask next.

"How powerful is she?" I blinked blankly. I had suspected this to come up eventually, but there was no definite answer to the devil's abilities.

"Depends on where she is and what the situation is." I vaguely answered, and Natsu pouted at this. It's true, Dev's power fluctuates contingent upon the circumstances. Lucy's blonde eyebrows furrowed together while she spoke.

"Deox-chan mentioned, and proved, that it was rather impossible to gauge her abilities without actually seeing her in action." I nodded in agreement, sure, fighting her gives you a better understanding of what the emotionless one is capable of, but it still isn't exact.

"True, but even then it's still difficult to gauge the extent of Dev's abilities, and I speak from numerous experiences of fighting her. She's definitely full of surprises—what?" They were giving me creepy looks which was freaking me out. Just what the hell are they thinking?

"Oh, nothing, it just seems like you know the devil _really_ well." Natsu commented, and I blinked in shock. I expected this kind of inquiry from Lucy, but not from him. I felt a small, unnoticeable, blush appear on my face. I glanced away from their stares before answering their questioning looks.

"So? I've been her best friend for roughly seven years, I'd expect to know her outside characteristics pretty well by now; and what about you and Lucy, huh? You two are pretty dang close." Blushes exploded on their faces when I said this, and I let myself smirk. Bingo, I just won the jackpot. "Oh, did you two expect to be able to ask all of these questions for free? In life, every choice comes with a price to pay." I stated with my smirk growing wider with each passing second. Their blushes kept becoming more and more dominant. It was fun being a known troublemaker.

"W—well, we're partners, teammates, and best friends I think, right, Luce?" Natsu shouted with a blush still protruding on his face. I smirked at this while Lucy agreed with Ash-Face. This was obviously not the case, but I don't want them divulging any deeper into Devi's personal life. She's had it rough, and I want to respect her wishes by not saying anything too harmful.

"So, moving on from that topic, what did you and the devil find out about this place, Lucy?" She bore a surprised expression on her face causing me to grin.

"How did you know that we researched this place?"

"I kind of suspected something when Devi shook her head at the look you gave her after hugging Flame-Brain here." She stilled looked confused, so I continued. "Besides, Devs has done this sort of research before, I believe…" I trailed off when I felt a burning pain in the back of my mind when I said this. The few jobs that the group did were mostly some kind of community service in order to help conceal our magic when we weren't in the house, and none of those were suspicious. So how did I know that about Devi? These thoughts were interrupted by Natsu putting a hand on my shoulder with a concerned expression adorning his facial features.

"Are you alright?" He asked and I looked at him funny. How had he known my mental turmoil just now?

"Yeah, why do you ask?" He nonchalantly shrugged which was kind of weird on him.

"I sensed a change in your mood from my dragon senses, and the look in your eyes confirmed it." I nodded while burrowing deeper into my own thoughts. They were becoming irritatingly painful and I knew I needed to stop. Maybe I'll tell Devs about this later.

"Anyways, Devi and I discovered—" Lucy was interrupted by Devilily slamming the door to the lounge room open.

"Dinner's ready." She monotonously stated before exiting the premises. I got out of my seat to follow her since making the devil wait is a horrible idea. Lucy and Natsu trailed behind me. On the table were five large cloches covering our meals, probably. Each one had one of our names written on it and the seating arrangement was Devi across from Lucy and next to me; Natsu was diagonal from her.

The devil revealed the center cloche to contain an assortment of beverages and a neatly sliced loaf of fresh bread with condiments of butter, cheese, jam, cream cheese, and chocolate spread. I took off the cloche in front of myself to see an empty glass (for the beverage), fettuccini pasta with lemon-grilled chicken and a marinara sauce lightly coating it with a side of steamed and seasoned vegetables all to perfection. If I hadn't had been so used to these lavish meals from the devil, I think drool would've been dripping from my mouth…Like a certain Pink-squeak across from me after taking a spoonful of the devil's version of Flame-o Soup. Lucy had a plate of Angel-hair pasta seasoned with various spices and olive oil with a variety of cooked vegetables also seasoned. She seemed to approve of her meal with gusto. I peeked over at Devi's plate and what I saw made me sweat-drop. She had a large bowl of onion soup with slightly toasted bread covered in melted cheese within it, a full plate of spaghetti with parmesan chicken coated in cheese and marinara sauce, a salad with an assortment of extras on it and homemade vinaigrette, and even a small bowl of fresh fruit on the side. To this day, I still don't comprehend where she manages to put all of that food and yet not be stuffed to the brim where she could hardly move.

"Since I promised to explain the earlier situation now, I guess that I'll start." Devi's voice broke my thoughts and everyone continued chewing while listening to the Cursed One intently. I already knew the gist of this, but I still listened in case she said something that I didn't know already.

"My extended family basically owns an entire country that is divided into regions for each one of the family members. My dad is one such landowner and—"

"Which country are you from?" Lucy interrupted causing Devs to blink a few times in order to pause and think.

"You wouldn't know it since it's a part of the uncharted regions on maps of Earthland since it is privately owned land." Devilily summed up and I raised an eyebrow in question. I hadn't known that about her family's territory. Well, I knew that her entire extended family basically owned a country, but I didn't realize that it was uncharted. No wonder I had never heard of it before.

"The 'country' is called 'Hidoi' while my father's region is called 'Nigrantem'. Don't ask me why they're called that, but I think that it has to do with the meaning of my last name. Anyways, not only does my family own an entire, wealthy, region, but my dad's magic enables him to invent various lacrima that helps train magic and non-magic users alike become better fighters through visual simulations. In short, they create an image in your brain making you think that you are in a battle situation while visualizing proper battle moves with your own body in order to improve your actual skills. It's effective and rarely does it have any negative side-effects. My mom helped design it which helped gain my immediate family to become more known since many militaries want these devices." She paused in order to eat more of her food. I had already known this about her family; we even have some of the training equipment in our gym that we got for free when we last saw her family. I regarded Natsu's and Lucy's facial expressions and saw that shock was written all over them. I don't think that they expected Devilily to have this kind of reason. However, I was more concerned about Devs since if they asked anymore about her past, it'd be digging into more sensitive topics.

"Anyways, now you two know the reason, but what did the two females find while Natsu and I were shopping?" I started a new conversation and Devi shot me a brief grateful look. She has her moments where she is almost bearable to be around; you just have to know how to get on her good side. Lucy set her eating utensil down and was staring at her lap. Natsu shot her a concerned look before reaching over and touching her shoulder in a comforting manner.

"Well, we found the baseline reason of why Devi and I had this strange feeling about this job. Devi, not to be rude, but I think it would be better if you explain." She sent a hopeful look to the devil that was in the middle of chewing a good portion of her food. We waited for her to swallow.

"Well, the thing that gave me a hunch that there was a dark history about this town was the meaning of its name, Norowareta, which means 'cursed.' I thought it was not only peculiar that a town's name would be something so dark, but also that the job time was for exactly three days and not until the end of the job.

"So, Lucy and I looked into it, and we came across the text of _'Three cursed nights rein on dark hours of the moon. Evil spirits rise from the abyssal place to corrupt this land. It is a dark and dangerous time'_ within a history book from _this_ town. I was, later, going to look up more within my Dark books from Hell in order to gain more knowledge about what that excerpt means." She summed up before taking another bite full of her food, nonchalantly as if nothing was unusual. Then again, when you're the Cursed One, I don't think many dark-related things faze her anymore. I wasn't affected much since I've been through hell before, but the other two were stunned and it looked like Lucy was on the brink of tears. I gave Devi a look that told her to give them some more information that I knew she had. She let out an exasperated sigh before continuing.

"Well, based upon textual evidence and previous knowledge of all things hell-related, I can tell you this. Usually, when it comes to consecutive hellish things in a row, they become progressively harder; and, referring to the line of _'evil spirits rise'_, the 'evil spirits' part probably is referring to demons. Therefore, this is my hypothesis: tonight there will be monsters and low-level demons appearing; tomorrow night will be all demons, low and high level; and on the third night will be high-level demons, low-class devils, and, possibly, demonic-related hell hierarchal figures. Although, if the hell hierarchal figures appear, they'd be there for me since many of them wish to battle me but haven't been able to since the only time that I really appear in hell would be for a nightmare meeting which violence isn't permitted. So, you guys don't have to worry about them." I did a double take after she had spoken her hypothesis. Did she just say that a part of hell's hierarchy would appear? Does that mean…

"Wait, will that bastardly prissy Prince appear as well?" I asked in a harsher tone than intended and Devs to go wide-eyed since I had said something about her past…probably. I didn't mean to, it's just that I need to know this information.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he does show, but no, you cannot take him on, Cas." I frowned at this.

"Devi, I have a score—"

"—to settle, I _know_. But I really don't care. I will be taking on the hell's hierarchy, if they appear, by _myself_. You, Natsu, and Lucy will fight the higher-level demons and low-class devils in order to protect the town from them. No arguing with me, Castor; if we weren't on a job, then maybe I'd let you take him on, but not this time. Please excuse me, I'm going to go gain a little shut-eye before our mission, and I recommend that the rest of you do the same." She ended the conversation completely after she deposited her dishes into the dishwasher and exited into her room. I have a feeling that she wasn't going to be sleeping for long, but I didn't voice this. Especially when I turned to the other two who were looking back and forth between me and the door that Devs just exited through. I let out a sigh, there's no way I'd be able to explain that entire conversation without Devi's consent.

"Just forget about the conversation between Devs and I, it's nothing of great importance, but I do think that we should all get some sleep before our mission tonight, so I'm going to hit the bed. Night." As I was exiting the room, I heard Natsu's and Lucy's conversation.

"Why would he want to hit his bed? Isn't that against the purpose of sleeping?" Natsu asked and Lucy let out an exasperated sigh.

"Natsu, it's an expression meaning that he is going to sleep."

"Oh, I didn't get that." I sighed to myself; this was going to be a long job.

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><p><strong>AN: Done! This was a longer chapter...but I hope that it was enjoyable without being too overwhelming with the bombardment of information about the job. I threw in Devi's and Castor's perspectives in order to help you guys get a better feel for the two characters. Anyways, next week will be part two of the job, so I bid you all a great day! ;)<strong>


	9. Chapter 8: The Night Mission (Part 2)

**AN: Hey I'm back with the new chapter! This one has more action in it about the job, and has information on the job itself. I hope you enjoy!  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail which belongs to Hiro Mashima**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 8: The Night Mission (Part Two)<strong>

**-Norowareta Town, Dusk, Normal POV-**

The four mages stood on different building roofs in each cardinal direction. They were preparing for the upcoming battle against "evil spirits." Devilily Larmenoir was in the West, Castor Greveame in the North, Natsu Dragneel was covering the East, and Lucy Heartfilia had the South. Each one had their magic at the ready when the ground started rumbling. Suddenly hordes of monsters as well as low-level demons poured down from the waning moon. The mages sprang into action.

Castor summoned his Duel Lightning Blades and leapt high into the atmosphere using his worldly magic for a more powerful jump. He summoned lightning upon his blades and started slicing through the enemy. He wrapped some of them up into a tornado's vortex within the sky and proceeded in using his lightning strikes as well as the weather to his advantage of destroying the dark creatures in the North.

Meanwhile, Natsu was using his flames to keep him aloft while also coating himself in fire and using his fire-dragon attacks to clear his enemy. His dragon-slaying attacks were highly effective against the monsters and were able to clear a lot of them with a single roar. Every once in a while, they'd attack back with magic which Natsu dodged, blocked, or ate if it was fire. The East was being effectively covered.

The South, which was Lucy's area, was also being protected. Lucy had summoned Loke who was using his light of Regulus magic to pummel his way through the demons as well as burn them and Sagittarius who was firing ballistae of arrows at the monsters who were all taken out by one. The strays were easily picked up by Lucy while she used her whip.

Devilily was almost done with her area after using very little of her magic. She had drained all of her opponents' energy using the attack "Devil's Triangle" before slicing them to smithereens with her Hell Battle Axe which was a massive duel-bladed axe. Feeling satisfied with her work, she proceeded in helping clear out the rest of the low-level demons and monsters.

In less than three hours, every single one of the "evil spirits" who had appeared the first night was destroyed and not even a scratch had appeared on the city. The mages met on a central building to discuss what course of action to take.

"Will there be any more tonight?" Natsu asked with adrenaline still coursing through his veins as well as the minimal magic and damaged taken from that battle. Everyone looked at their hell expert who was looking at the sky.

"I doubt it, but to be on the safe side, we'll each take turns on watch. If any monsters are spotted alert the others immediately." She stated with an affirmative tone and the others nodded in agreement.

"They were really weak; I barely used much of my magic tonight." Lucy stated, feeling happy that she managed to make it through the fight without wasting any more than half of her magic.

"Well, Devs said that tonight would be easy. Tomorrow will be a little harder, and the last night will be the hardest, especially if hell's hierarchy decides to show their ugly faces." Everyone's face hardened at this fact. Devi was still gazing at the calm night sky.

"No use in worrying about something that'll occur in the future. You should all get some rest in case we have another battle. I'll take first watch." Devilily stated and the group left to grab their supplies from the various places that they left them before returning to lay down. Devi sat down on the rooftop and gazed at the stars. The slight breeze made her long hair tied back in a ponytail dance like real flames. The waning moon looked like a malicious grin within the evening sky, like it was taunting the mages.

The next morning came causing Lucy, Castor, and Natsu to wake with the rising sun. They glanced around and saw that Devilily was already gone, and had left no note of her whereabouts. They searched the roof feverishly to come to a conclusion that Devi had taken off somewhere. Natsu and Lucy turned to Castor who appeared startled at this accusation.

"Look, I may know the devil better than most, but that doesn't mean that I always know what the hell she's thinking. I will tell you this, she's probably just doing something productive since she doesn't like sitting around long." He stated before gazing out at the horizon. It was obvious from his body language that he was actually worried, but wouldn't say it.

"Hey, did either of you get woken up for the watch?" Natsu asked and the other two shook their heads.

"Does Devi do this often while you guys were traveling?" Lucy asked the worldly mage who nodded slowly.

"She doesn't require the same amount as sleep as we do, so she probably wanted us to sleep in order to have enough energy for another attack."

"Should we go look for her?" Lucy asked and just as Castor was about to answer, Natsu interrupted him.

"Of course, she's our nakama, she could be in trouble!"

"I doubt to think that she'd be in trouble, but if it gives you guys comfort, you can look around town for her while I'll inform the mayor of last night's success, deal?" Castor suggested and everyone nodded before parting their separate ways.

Natsu and Lucy had each taken half of the town and were calling out for Devilily while roaming the streets and rooftops. There was no sign of the flame-head anywhere within town. They met up on the building where they had started while telling each other of their failed findings. They agreed to go to the mayor's house and ask Castor for some assistance.

Castor had been listening to praise for the past ten minutes from the mayor, and was starting to get bored of it. The mayor had been going on and on about how good of a job they did in eliminating the "vile creatures" without letting any harm come to the town. Castor's patience was wearing a bit thin when he went onto the topic about how well the entire town slept that night since he hadn't heard a thing. Suddenly, the worldly mage snapped and slammed his hand down on the desk.

"Look, we appreciate the gratitude, but there is some information that we should tell you. Based on some research that we've gathered about this town, it has become clear that this isn't some random occurrence of why you hired us for three days. This town has a curse on it, right? Not that it matters whether or not it does to me, just know that we've accepted this job no matter what the conditions are, but we'd like to know the story behind this assignment." Castor confidently stated making the mayor visibly shiver with fear. The hard glint in the living mage's eyes was enough to scare the living daylights out of several fierce monsters.

"V-very well, but I will have you know that the red-head in your group asked the same thing in a similar manner earlier." This piqued Castor's interest.

"Where did she go afterwards?" He asked in a flat tone in order to not give too much away.

"Err, I'm not quite sure, but she left with a very scary aura surrounding her." After that, Castor sat down in a chair across from the mayor's and listened to the history behind this town's curse. What he heard shocked him, and it was just as the mayor finished that Natsu and Lucy entered the office. Castor noted their entrance, but conversed with the mayor still.

"Where is this shrine that you mentioned?" Castor asked and the mayor wiped sweat from his brow.

"It is in the middle of Central Circle with wards all around it." The Worldly One gave the mayor quick thanks before grabbing the other two and dragging them out of the building.

"I have a hunch about where the devil is." Castor stated while fast-walking towards the destination. Natsu and Lucy quickly caught up.

"We checked Central Circle already, but she wasn't there." Natsu stated and the look in Castor's dark eyes was enough to scare some of the most influential people.

"That's because you didn't go into the shrine, did you?" Lucy shook her head.

"No since wards were up preventing anyone from entering."

"That's because you can't just be 'anyone' to enter a shrine dedicated to hell." By this time the three of them were standing outside the ward barrier surrounding the shrine. Some pedestrians who were passing by glanced at them before walking away as if nothing had happened.

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked as Castor slowly began reaching his hand towards the barrier. When his fingertips touched the barrier, he winced at the dull pain that it had sent up his arm before passing through up to his shoulder.

"What I mean is only those who have a connection to hell may enter this place. Devs, being the Cursed One, was probably able to pass through without a hitch." Lucy studied the black-head before voicing the question that was on both her and Natsu's minds.

"They why are you able to pass through?" Just as Castor was about to answer, a new, but familiar, voice spoke in his place.

"It's because he's an Idiotic Lump of Rock." They all turned to face the source of the monotonous voice…Devilily. She was inside the barrier and exiting the shrine with a hard edge to her figure.

"Devi, what happened?" Lucy gasped as she saw a large cut going down the inside of the hell mage's arm. Devilily glanced down at it as she crossed the barrier after Castor had removed his arm from the inside of it. Devi shot Lucy a small, grateful look in her left eye before turning emotionless again.

"It's a long story that cannot be told in this horrid place. Let's return to the hotel, shall we?" The four Fairy Tail wizards reentered the hotel while hiding Devi's arm so that they didn't cause a ruckus. Once they were in the privacy of their suite, they all entered the lounge room after Devi had gotten medical wrapping tape to place over her wound. When she had finished treating it, she looked up to the three expectant faces of the others.

"Well, what is it that you want to know?" She inquired while flicking her gaze over the three's faces.

"How about you start after we all fell asleep?" Natsu asked and Devilily sighed in exhaustion.

"Then this'll be a _really_ long tale, so get comfortable." Everyone sat down in the plush chairs facing the devil after grabbing a few bowls of snacks for during the story. Devi took a deep breath before starting.

"Well, after you guys all fell asleep, I was on look-out for the entire night since I don't require too much sleep and you guys needed it. During that time, I began reading my books that I had brought with me and found out more about this town. The literary works all pointed to the sealed shrine within this town, but I didn't know where it was because of the wards surrounding it, so I went to the mayor's place when dawn arrived to find out more information. I meant to leave a note, but I guess that I forgot that minor detail.

"While I was talking to a half-awake mayor, he ended up telling me the whole story of what happened to this town and I inserted my own information to the holes within his story. It turns out that a few centuries ago, this place was blessed by an angel for protection, and so the people who lived here ended up becoming very cocky thinking that no harm could come to them. They ended up disregarding the needy and lived in lavish housing while forcing the poor to work in brutal conditions for their luxury. The angel, who had blessed them for the heaven worthy deeds that their ancestors had done, revoked the blessing which allowed 'evil spirits to roam this town.

"When people denied the dark beings that they saw and were still unaware of the revoked blessing, this caused the demons to become angry that they weren't reflecting upon their wrongdoings. They took this information to hell's hierarchy who unanimously decided to curse this town for these grave offenses. The Demonic King is the one who placed this curse, meaning that it is powerful, but not the most potent of curses; however it was enough to thoroughly punish the town.

"It had taken three days for the angel to bless this town and three nights for the demon king to curse it. On each night, the curse became stronger enabling stronger demons to advance into this town. This is why this mission will become increasingly harder since the curse will be at its peak of strength on the third night." Devilily took a break in her story in order to snack and allow for all this information to sink in for the others. Castor had heard the story from the mayor, but didn't know all the details since the mayor hadn't known all of the circumstances like the devil. Meanwhile, for Lucy and Natsu, this was the first time that they were hearing any part of the history, and it scared Lucy slightly but it excited Natsu.

"I take it the mayor also told you the location of the shrine as well as its significance?" Castor asked the flame-head who nodded with a cookie in her mouth. Once she had finished it, she continued.

"The shrine is the location where the demon king appeared within town and where he created the curse. The site is unholy and only those who have a connection to hell may enter the site or they shall burn within the shrine if they somehow don't get repelled by the barrier which was erected for the peoples' safety. The barrier also cuts off connection between humans and the shrine which would be the cause of none of you being able to find me. When he had told me its location, I stormed off towards it.

"I entered the barrier without a hitch, in fact, it seemed like it was drawing me towards the shrine. Upon entering, the first thought that came to mind was that it reminded me of the demonic potion of hell, which isn't a pretty sight and I'm not going into detail. Anyways, when I was looking around I noticed a dark summoning circle and upon further examination, I recognized it. The summoning circle was incomplete and was to be used to summon the demon king. Also, there was a canvas with a demonic language that described the curse in further detail." She paused and Lucy took this opportunity to voice the question on all of their minds.

"How'd you get that injury if the barrier hadn't affected you?" Devi hesitated in answering, as if calculating how much she should share.

"I tried to absorb the curse since I'd be the only person who'd have a chance of dispelling it. When it comes to curses, only once can exist for a person, and the more potent one is the one that remains on a person. Since I already am cursed, I tried to absorb it and dispel it into hell which would prevent the town from having any more of these demonic attacks. However, when I was at the critical part, it backfired and it inflicted damage onto me. I managed to dodge the majority of the backlash, but it caught my arm. It was after the curse had returned to its original state that I felt a disturbance within the barrier and I knew you guys were there. That's the story." She took a drink of her cherry soda while the other three stared at her injured right arm. Castor had disbelief written in his dark eyes; he had known the devil the longest, and it was obvious that she was hiding important details about her injury. The others hadn't doubted anything since they don't know Devilily as well as Castor.

It was at this time that they all decided that it'd be best to eat breakfast before getting some more shuteye. So, after they had eaten Devi's grandiose brunch, they all retired to their rooms. Lucy was about to fall asleep when she noticed that the devil, who had already fallen asleep, was tossing and turning a lot. She remembered what Deoxies had told her, _"__Devi never has a peaceful slumber, she always has nightmares."_ The thought made her shiver, and have a sympathetic face towards the sleeping cursed one. The thought of having nightmares was scary enough, but to have it every time you fall asleep is enough to make anyone dodge sleeping for as long as they can.

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><p><strong>-October 21st, Early Afternoon, Satori Hotel, Lucy's POV-<strong>

I blinked my eyes open when a ray of light hit my face. I groaned as I stretched my muscles while in bed. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was only twelve-thirty-four, I had about four hours of rest, and I felt great. I peered over at Devilily's bed and saw that it was empty with the sheets strewn as if a fight had occurred there. Then I remembered how much she was tossing and turning and a frown came to my face. She barely had sleep in a while, so shouldn't she be tired?

I slipped silently off the plush bed and made my way out the door and to the kitchen where I could possibly find a bite to eat. When I was crossing the threshold that led to the lounge room, I stopped when I heard voices through the mostly closed door. I peeked into the crack and saw Devi and Castor sitting on the couch talking in hushed tones since they were being courteous for the people sleeping. I know that it's rude to eavesdrop and they'd probably never do this to me, but the two of them are so mysterious and secretive that my curiosity won over.

"—think it means? I somehow knew you like to research suspicious jobs but we've never been on one before! Not that I can recall, anyways, which is why I'm asking you since you're the one with the better memory." Castor was saying and I noticed that Devi was biting her lip in thought.

"Maybe it was really early on, like maybe when we were ten or eleven? I have a hard time remembering that long ago as well." Castor's eyes became calculating.

"No, you have a brilliant memory. You remember things that happened to you when you were three—"

"That's because it was a dark thing. My curse forces me to remember every single bitter detail of my darkest memories. However, like most people, I also have a limited memory. I cannot remember all of the details clearly that happened a while ago and had no dark connection." Castor hesitated, but seemed to accept this answer. There was a moment of silence before Devi spoke again.

"How're your nightmares?" She said in such a soft tone that I almost didn't recognize that it was her voice.

"Terrible, but you warned me, so it's my fault, not yours." Castor said in a stern tone.

"Yeah, but I was the one who agreed to let you not have any nightmares on the night you should've which caused you to suffer these past couple of nights!" At this statement, I saw Castor grab Devi's shoulders and glare at her hard in the eyes. At the same time, I felt someone put a warm, familiar hand over my mouth and I looked over to see Natsu. His salmon spikey hair was a bigger mess than usual, and he was wearing a red T-shirt and shorts. I put a finger to my lips signaling for him to be quiet while he crouched down to eavesdrop with me.

"—forced you to! I have no regrets about it either because I _wanted_ to have a good night's rest before my fight with Flame-brain. I accepted the fact that I'd have worse nightmares for an entire week afterwards. IT ISN'T YOUR FAULT, DAMMIT! So stop blaming yourself!" They had locked hard gazes for a solid minute before Devi sighed.

"Fine, but if they become unbearable, let me know. I'll try to help in whatever way I can." Castor visibly relaxed and slowly dropped his hands from Devi's shoulders. He stopped when he came to her injury and he stared at it. "What about my injury?" Devilily asked already sensing what he was thinking.

"Does it hurt?" Castor lamely asked while pulling his hands away. Devi shrugged her shoulders.

"It did when I first got it, but not so much anymore. That's not what you really want to ask, is it?" Castor bit his lip before letting out a sigh.

"I know that you weren't telling everything about how you got. I know that you'll never tell a lie, but you never tell the whole truth. So, what really happened?" He asked and now it was Devi's turn to bite her lip.

"Fine, I'll tell you. You know how I said that there was an incomplete summoning circle?" Castor's dark eyes widened and he pointed at Devi while shaking head.

"You—you didn't, did you?" Devi nodded while looking down at her lap. Castor took a deep breath.

"Well, come one, tell me everything that happened."

"I completed the summoning circle and corrected the few minor mistakes before summoning Lucifer. I was hoping to get him to remove the curse, but when he showed up, he refused to. He said that it is what they deserve for defying not only an angel, but blaspheming the demons as well. When I told him that those were the humans in the past, and that the people of today would change, he denied it. We got into a heated argument where he attacked me with his weapon after I said that I'd remove the curse myself which is what caused the injury. He also stated that I'd never be able to eliminate this curse and that he'd purposely get in my way while I was here. Because of me, hell's hierarchy will now show up causing even more problems for this town. Prissy was already going to show up as soon as I arrived here, but Lucifer was planning on staying out of it, now he won't. It's my entire fault." She buried her face into her hands, but it didn't look like she was crying. Castor pulled her into a hug while shushing her softly.

"It's okay, Devs, you tried to remove the curse for all of our sakes. I-I'll go along with your plan of only you'd fight hell's hierarchy while the rest of us will fight the demons that enter. I'm glad that you told me instead of keeping it all bottled up inside." She looked up with him with disbelief written in her ruby red eye.

"I can't tell which one of us is the counselor when this happens." Castor let out a laugh and what I saw shocked me. A smile appeared on Devi's face. Granite, it was a small one, but it was definitely a smile, and by Natsu's expression, he had seen it as well.

"Speaking of counseling, what is our relationship?" Devilily's face returned to normal when he asked this.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we've never really given a definite meaning to our…bond, I think the word is?" Castor stated while looking around in thought.

"Is this because of what Natsu and Lucy said?"

"Perhaps." Devilily gave him a hard look.

"Castor, you can't lie to me." He rolled his eyes at this.

"Fine, yes it is. They told me what you think what I believe our relationship is, which is right, by the way, but I never heard what you thought." Devi studied his face before speaking.

"Do you want to know?" Castor stared at her for what felt like an hour, but was probably only a few seconds.

"I would like to, but you don't have to if you don't want to tell anyone." Devilily sighed at this.

"Fine, I'll tell you since it'd only be fair because I already know what you think." A smile played on Castor's lips.

"I thought hell wasn't reasonable?"

"It isn't, but that doesn't mean that I have to be unfair, too."

"That's a _fair_ point." Devi gave him a withering look which he grinned at. I glanced at Natsu and saw him looking at me before turning back to the other two.

"I guess that I think of you as my best friend, a guy that I can trust to not only watch my back but to also keep the secrets that I'm willing share, is there for me when I'm in a pinch, and…the one person who I can let my guard completely down around." Castor stared at her with incredulity written in his dark gray eyes.

"Devs—" She stood brusquely after he had lightly touched her.

"I think you should get some more sleep. It's obvious that you need it, especially with the fights coming up." He nodded before slowly getting up. Devi walked over to the widow and was looking out it when Castor abruptly came up behind her and hugged her.

"Thank you, for sharing." He said softly before walking towards the door. Natsu and I quickly scurried silently away I went into my room while Natsu had gone into the kitchen to look like he was getting something to eat. I could hear the muffled noises of the conversation between the two guys in the kitchen through the door, but I didn't really pay attention. I mostly thinking about the conversation I had just overheard and how it was truly horrible eavesdropping was.

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><p><strong>-Later Afternoon, Luxury Suite, Normal POV-<strong>

The group of four were all up and hanging around the suite in various fashions of comfortable clothes. Devilily was currently in the kitchen making dinner while Castor, Lucy, and Natsu were in the dining room connected to the kitchen figuring out tonight's battle strategy. They were all currently looking over a labeled map of the city.

"I like what we did with the formation last night; it worked pretty well. However, since tonight will be harder, I think that we should pinch in our starting positions. This'll enable us to be closer to one another in case one of us needs assistance." Castor stated while pointing to various buildings in the different cardinal directions nearer to the center. The two nodded, then Lucy thought of something.

"Since these next to fights will be harder, should we come up with a sort of signal in case we need help?"

"That's a good idea, anyone got any ideas?" Castor agreed while looking around.

"Yeah, Luce and I have done fireworks before with our magic, so how about we use that and you guys can do something with your own magics?" Natsu suggested causing the other two to blink blankly in surprise.

"That's actually a really good idea, I could probably send up an elemental or weather flare, and Devs?" Castor started before turning to the devil that was leaning over the counter facing them while wiping her hands on a towel.

"I can send up a dark flare, or something. Depending upon what magic I'm using at the time, but you'll know it's me if you see it." She turned and went back to fixing dinner while the other three continued their conversation.

"Now that that matter is settled, I should probably inform you of the differences between upper and lower level demons. Lower-levels are stupid and can be easily taken down, like last night. Their abilities are better than those of monsters, but mental abilities aren't all there. However, higher-level demons will be able to start figuring things out after watching others fall. So, be careful with them, alright?" Castor specified while looking back and forth between Natsu and Lucy. The two nodded in comprehension.

"Good, next thing: Devi is dinner ready yet?!" Castor shouted but was responded with a cooking pot hitting him dead-on in the face.

"Do NOT rush perfection, Thunder Mouth." Devilily growled before turning back to the kitchen to continue what she was doing.

"I think I now understand why nobody messes with Devi while she's in the kitchen." Natsu whispered into Lucy's ear and she robustly agreed. A few minutes later, Castor came-to while holding the cooking pot just as Devi had finished the meal. They cleared off the table before sitting down to eat the delectable meal in a comfortable silence. Afterwards, the group dispersed into males and females in order to catch a bit more rest before their fight later.

In the females' room, just as Lucy was settling down in her bed, she almost fell out when Devi asked her a question.

"Is there something that you wish to tell me, Lucy?" The celestial-spirit mage flushed and began stuttering undecipherable noises before actually forming fathomable sentences.

"I—I don't know what you're talking about." Devi rolled her eyes before giving the blonde mage a withering and unconvinced look.

"Don't play dumb, I know that you were eavesdropping on Castor's and my conversation earlier." Lucy looked down at her hands in her lap. Since the jig was up, she might as well tell the truth right?

"It's true, that I heard your entire conversation, basically. I'm sorry for eavesdropping, please don't hurt me!" Lucy bowed her head low to the cursed mage who let out an evil, fake, laugh.

"I take more pleasure in torturing idiotic males than kind females, so relax a little." Lucy thought in her mind one thing: _Sadistic Devil_. Before she listened to what the red-head was continuing with.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm still pissed, but not enough so that I'll have to make your life a living hell. Anyways, I guarantee that you misunderstood the majority of it, correct?" Lucy nodded her head slowly at the last sentence.

"First off, I won't explain the first part of our conversation other than I council Castor when it comes to nightmares since I'm an expert. And the part about our relationship, well I didn't mean it the way that Mirajane would hope, in terms of more simplicity…'we are really good friends' would probably be the closest description. I don't trust many people, but out of all of my friends, I trust Castor the most. He knows the true meaning behind my words, but his reaction was the way it was probably because he must've supposed that I didn't think that highly of him." The celestial mage smiled warmly at the hell mage who raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"You really are a very kind and loyal person underneath that harsh exterior, aren't you, Devi?" Devilily's facial expression remained emotionless, but her ruby-red eyes swam with misunderstanding.

"Huh?" Lucy waved it off with a hand while shaking her head.

"Never mind, just know that I think of you in a new light…err, darkness, whatever." The two laughed, except Devi's giggle was still fake, before bidding each other decent dreams and nodding off to sleep.

On the other hand, within the males' room, the two guys were having a similar conversation to the girls except in their own…manner. Castor had just come out of the shower, so he was half-naked and only wearing dark gray sweatpants while his muscular, slightly-tan upper body was exposed. Beads of water still dripped from his body as he attempted in drying in messy, medium length black hair with a towel. When his stormy silver eyes landed on the pinkette, he stopped walking. Natsu was giving the worldly mage a hard look while crouching on his bed.

"May I help you?" Castor asked in an unsure tone while Natsu continued to stare. Castor let out an exasperated sigh before starting to walk again.

"You have a lot of scars." Natsu bluntly stated causing the black-head to roll his eyes.

"Oh, and like you're one to talk." When Castor had passed Natsu, the fire dragon-slayer noticed large, jagged, cross-hatching scars across the Worldly One's toned back causing his dark green eyes to widen.

"Those scars on your back, they look like—"

"—whip marks, because they are." Natsu's eyes widened even more, if that was possible.

"Did Devi give you those?" Castor whipped his head around so fast, it made the pinkette dizzy.

"No way in hell! She'd never do this to me. I mean, she has used a whip on me before, but she holds back enough so that it doesn't break the skin and I was wearing a sweatshirt for protection as well."

"Then…where'd you get them?" The fire mage asked causing the living mage to gain a distant look in his eyes.

"They're from a long time ago, and now they serve as more of a…reminder." Natsu nodded silently in understanding. He could tell that Castor didn't want to say any more about it, which was fine. The long-time Fairy Tail mage decided to change the subject.

"So, that conversation you had with the devil earlier-." He was broken off by the newer Fairy Tail member whipping around to glare at the fire dragon-slayer.

"You were eavesdropping on that conversation?!" Natsu gulped down the rising fear in his throat."Well, I was going to get a drink, but then I saw Luce staring through the crack in the door to the lounge room, so I decided to startle her by covering her mouth, but then she signaled for me to stay and be quiet, which I did because I don't want to face her wrath." The hard edges of Castor's glare seemed to soften.

"Well, I was going to get a drink, but then I saw Luce staring through the crack in the door to the lounge room, so I decided to startle her by covering her mouth, but then she signaled for me to stay and be quiet, which I did because I don't want to face her wrath." The hard edges of Castor's glare seemed to soften.

"Oh, what did you want to know about the conversation?" A blush formed on Natsu's face.

"What Devilily said about what she thinks about you, does that mean that she's in love with you?" The look on Castor's face would've made the fire dragon-slayer drop to the ground from laughing so hard if the situation had been different. The worldly mage's cheeks had become bright red with his eyes wide and jaw dropped open. The towel that he was holding to dry his hair had been dropped to the floor and his whole body was frozen stiff. Suddenly, he was ripped from his stupor like someone ripping off a bandage.

"WHAT?! No, no, no, no, no, no! You misinterpreted that COMPLETELY!" Natsu blinked in confusion at the dramatic denial actions that the black-head was doing in front of him.

"Then…what did she mean?" Castor slumped to the floor with a groan of frustration.

"What Devs meant was that she thinks of me as a really good nakama, and for her that's really hard. She has never trusted anyone completely and always has some sort of guard up. So, for her to say that means that she considers me a close enough friend that she no longer has any worries when she's with me, which is _huge_. I had always assumed that I needed her presence more than she relied on me, but when she told me how highly she thought of me, I was dumbstruck, hence my reaction." A few moments of an awkward silence followed the worldly mage's illumination.

"Well, that's a new way to tell someone that they trust them." Natsu responded in order to break the silence that was irritating him. Castor let out a laugh causing the fire dragon-slayer to smile.

"Devs has always been weird with her explanations. You have to know her well enough in order to get the proper meaning behind her obfuscation words, and even then you sometimes don't fully understand their meaning."

"Devilily, and all girls, are so complicated." Both males laughed at Natsu's correct inference before bidding each other good dreams.

* * *

><p><strong>-Norowareta Town, Dusk, Normal POV-<strong>

The four Fairy Tail mages had set themselves up similar to the previous night except with the minor modifications made earlier. Just as the inky-blackness of nightfall settled upon the town, there was an earsplitting crack from the sky in front of the waning moon. The star-speckled sky split open when a black hole appeared from the crackling dark lighting. The mages prepared themselves, and when the first demons appeared, they all sprang into action.

Lucy Heartfilia summoned Capricorn and Taurus. Taurus went on a rampage with his huge battle axe, after commenting on Lucy's "nice body," and started battling the lower-level demons while Capricorn skillfully fought the higher-level demons. Lucy, herself, handled any and all stragglers, within the South, that her two spirit friends happened to miss by the use of her whip.

Natsu Dragneel started off by wiping out the first wave of demons with his Fire-dragon's roar before jumping off the building to spar with the demons in close-combat. He easily took care of the lower-level demons, but some of the upper-level ones were hanging back and observing Natsu. Natsu, never one to leave anyone out of a fray, commenced battling the evil spirits with the leading beacon of "Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon." The East was protected…for the most part.

Castor Greve-ame had summoned his Worldly Battle axe from the core of the world and was clear-cutting all of the demons who lay in his path. Castor then beckoned a geyser of molten magma which engulfed the majority of then higher-level demons. Lightning swirled around him which blasted back any and all demons who dared to enter his personal space. North was successfully being handled.

Devilily Larmenoir, who was in the West, was drawing waves of demons towards her by emitting radiant dark energy that naturally draws all dark creatures within a certain vicinity towards her. When she had a mob of demons around her, a smirk appeared on her face as she used the magical attack "Dark Storm" which is a flurry of dark torrents that rip all those within it to shreds. Afterwards, Devi leapt high into the air and bit her thumb hard enough to draw blood before muttering the setting-change magic of "Crimson Night" which amplifies all magic of those the user wishes to strengthen. Immediately she raised both of her hands, like she was a dark puppet-master, and shouted the magic spell "Shadow Terror" which caused all of the demons within the North to either flee back to the black hole and vanish or kill others to assist the Fairy Tail mages.

It had taken almost half of the night to completely purge the town from the onslaught of the demons. Once they were finished, the mages convened on a central rooftop. Lucy had come out of the battle with a few minor bruises, Natsu had small cuts on his knuckles, and Castor had a black eye while Devilily had come out of the fray unscathed. They all looked to their hell expert, Devilily, for what course of action they should take next.

"There won't be any more demons tonight that I know for a fact, so I recommend that you three go back to the hotel and get some rest while I go report the success of tonight to the mayor." Devi stated monotonously.

"Shouldn't you wait for—" Lucy yawned, "—the sun to rise before informing him?" Devilily and Castor shook their heads in unison.

"He doesn't exactly deserve the pleasure of a solid sleep. I'll beat him awake if I have to, but you guys can go on ahead and sleep, here." Devi tossed Lucy the key to the room before leaping off the building in the direction of the mayor's house. The other three sleepily made their way back to the hotel where they all fell asleep on their beds as soon as they hit the mattresses.

* * *

><p>Later that morning, Lucy aroused herself from her slumber unconditionally. The blinds were completely closed so no light could even think of peeking through. After rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes, the celestial-spirit mage peered over at the currently sleeping figure of the devil. She was sound asleep based upon the fact that she was tossing and turning with her eyes closed meaning that she was having nightmares, again. Lucy slowly slipped off of her bed and out from beneath the covers. She was wearing pink flannel pajama pants with a pastel yellow shirt that said "Lights Out" with stars around it. She went to the bathroom and took a quick shower in order to rinse the drowsiness off of her before getting changed into sweats and a comfy short-sleeved shirt.<p>

When she strode out of the bathroom with steam billowing around her as she dried her silky blonde hair, she quietly crept over to the window. The shades had started opening a bit causing some sunlight to flood into the room. In order to be considerate to the hell mage, Lucy closed the blinds. The celestial mage then turned to the devil whose covers had been thrown off in her sleep. Letting out a sigh, Lucy gently placed the covers back over the slumbering flame-head. And as she stood up again, the blonde couldn't help but let her gaze drift over to Devi's face. Her long bangs had been thrown off her pale face which revealed her ever-hidden right eye. When Lucy's line of vision rested on the newly uncovered eye, her hands flew to her mouth as she screamed causing the devil to wake up by snapping both of her eyes open.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Cliffhangers rule, even if they are mean to the readers...so I apologize, and don't kill me! Anyways, the main boss fighting for the third night will take place next chapter which'll conclude this three-part mission. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! Reviews encourage this author, and I hope you all have an awesome day! ;)<strong>


	10. Chapter 9: The Night Mission (Part 3)

**AN: This chapter is finally out after that lovely cliffhanger! I hope the wait is worth it for this conclusion to the three part mission! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail which belongs to Hiro Mashima**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 9: The Night Mission (Part 3)<strong>

**-Satori Hotel, Luxury Suite, Nine o'clock AM, Natsu's POV-**

My dark green eyes snapped open as soon as I heard Luce's scream. I barreled out of the Castor's and my room so fast that I made light look slow. I threw open the door to the girls' room to see Lucy staring at an awake devil with her hands covering her mouth and chocolate-brown eyes wide. I ran over to Lucy just as Castor bolted into the room and noticed the situation as well. I grasped Luce's shoulders and stared at her in the eyes while I heard Sparky do the same for Devilily.

"Luce, what happened?! What's wrong?" I inquired in an urgent, yet comforting, voice. I took a quick peek over my shoulder at the other two, and when my gaze settled on the devil, I did a double-take. Her bangs, which normally completely covered her right eye, were in disarray off of her face revealing the right side of her face. There was a large, ragged, bright red scar cutting through her eye from just above her eyebrow down to below her cheekbone. It was a stark contrast to her deathly pale skin, but that wasn't the worst of it. Her right iris was still the same ruby red as the other one, but the white of her eye was pitch-black. Devi noticed my gaze and slowly closed her right eye as if just now realizing that it was open. I heard Lucy inhale a calming breath and I turned my attention to her.

"I was closing the blinds in order to let Devi sleep some more, but when I turned and saw her, I was just so shocked by the sight of your right eye. I'm so sorry Devi, everyone, for waking you up and for screeching at your scar." Devilily waved her off with a small smile dancing in her left eye. Castor slowly lowered the protective hand that was around Devilily. I studied the two of them, it seems like there is something wrong with that scar since it looks kind of fresh and rather irritated.

"Hey, Devilily, did you get that scar last night? It looks kind of fresh." I commented which made both Sparky's and the devil's eyes widen a fraction. They exchanged glances before Devi spoke.

"To put it simply, I receive this cursed scar a long time ago, and with cursed scars, the pain doesn't ever go away." I dropped the subject by the icy tone. It seems that my curiosity lead me over rather thin ice. Oops, my bad minna ["Minna" means "everyone"].

"Why was your sclera like that?" Lucy asked and Devilily's vision snapped to over to Luce with a hint of venom to what seemed like someone other than Lucy. So I didn't get defensive, yet.

"Let's just say that it's the symbol of my curse." Luce's brown eyes flitted back and forth in thought since it seems that she wants more answers, but the devil's tone sounded final. I'm glad that I've been staying quiet for that last part.

"Well, since all misunderstanding seems to be sorted out, how about we have brunch together since we're all up?" Castor suggested and I swear I saw Devilily send him a grateful look, similar to the one she sent him when she had finished explaining about reason why we were able to reside in this room.

"Sounds decent, I'll go make it." Devi stated before striding out of the room with Castor right behind her.

"Great, I'll go get dressed. See you two…uh, later?" The door closed behind them which left Luce and I alone in her room. She had a skeptical expression, which I can't blame her. Those two were definitely avoiding several topics about themselves, but it was probably just a matter of time before they both opened up to the guild, hopefully. I started walking towards the door; I needed to take a shower because I crashed as soon as I got to my bed earlier.

"Well, I think I'm just going to go take a shower. See you soon?" I hesitantly inquired and Luce regarded me with those steady brown orbs. Eventually she nodded and I left out the door while exhaling the breath that I hadn't realized I had been holding.

For brunch, the devil had prepared a full spread again. Every single dish was prepared specifically for a certain person varying on their tastes. Mine was flame-hot bacon strips on the side of fluffy pancakes bathed in perfectly sweet maple syrup while the drink was liquid flames. It was delicious! Luce had fluffy pancakes as well with a slight drizzle of syrup but had a ring of strawberries surrounded by fresh whipped cream; from the look on her face, it seemed wonderful. Sparky had a plate consisting of chocolate chip pancakes with maple syrup, bacon strips, scrambled eggs, breakfast sausages, and fresh pineapple. I think he prefers meat with his brunch, but his wasn't the most surprising. Devilily had an enormous stack of chocolate chip pancakes with a cascade of syrup dripping off of each pancake, breakfast sausages, scrambled eggs, strawberries, raspberries, and cherries all for brunch. I think she wins the biggest appetite contest. After we had all scarfed our meals down in satisfaction, we began discussing the matter of what'll transpire this evening.

"Based on accumulated research, tonight there will be high-level demons and low-class devils plus at least two of hell's hierarchy. Devs will handle the hierarchy while the three of us will take on the devils and demons." Castor explained and I raised my hand to stop him there.

"What are the differences between the devils and demons?" I asked and Devi signaled to Castor that she'd explain.

"Devils are in a whole other class than demons even if they have a lower ranking. They're more mischievous, cunning, clever, powerful; be careful around them. The demons won't be too much to handle, but I recommend that you all stay within shouting distance of one another since devils will try to attack your back. I'll try to assist you guys once I defeat hell's hierarchical figures. Speaking of them, I'll contact _her_ to try and make sure that only lower-class devils and only Prissy and Demon King will show up. She has a lot of influence, so her help will be required." Castor groaned.

"I really hate relying on Sin. You never know when she's being sarcastic, sadistic, or completely honest."

"Well, she is the Empress of Devils, and she isn't that bad. Speaking of which, I'll go contact her after I clean this up, so you guys continue chatting about strategies." Devilily announced while picking up all of our dishes and taking them into the kitchen. Their entire conversation was _way_ too confusing, so I didn't understand any of it. I focused back to the current discussion when Luce cleared her throat.

"Do you think that we should evacuate all of the townspeople to one portion of town so that it's easier to protect them? I mean, if they're everywhere, then the hellish creatures can easily destroy the town." Both Castor and I nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good, did you have a place in mind, Luce?" I asked and she nodded slowly.

"Based upon what I've been reading, for the first two nights of the curse, the 'evil spirits' appear from the moon; but on the third night they appear from the shrine. So, I recommend that we have the townspeople retreat to the farthest, but most fortified, building in town."

"That's a pretty good idea, and hopefully Devs will lure hell's hierarchy to the opposite corner to fight them. So who'll go tell the mayor?" Luce and I raised our hands at the same time causing the two of us to laugh. Castor grinned and nodded. After this, we all parted ways where Sparky and the devil made preparations on the home front for tonight while Luce and I went to go inform the mayor of our tactic.

* * *

><p><strong>-Around Noon, Luxury Suite, Devilily's POV-<strong>

I prepped myself in the lounge room with the Dark Mirror in front of me and Castor behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw him nod in readiness. I took a deep breath before using my hellish magic and concentrating it onto my left fore and middle fingers. I gently touched them to my cursed right eye and winced at the sharp contact. Once I felt blood running down from my now reopened scar, I removed my fingers and placed them on the Dark Mirror. The image in it rippled and I came face to face with my counterpart, Sinuite Lacrimater, the Devil's Empress. She gave us her sadistic grin.

"Hey Earthlanders, how fare thee?" I rolled my eyes. Sin was wearing a blood-red renaissance gown adorned with black lace trimmings. Her sharp fangs flashed below her smile that complemented her pale skin and almost-black eyes. Her straight long black hair with blood-red tips was down elegantly but her bangs still covered her similarly scarred left eye. On top of her head she wore the Devil Empress's obsidian, onyx, and red-garnet crown just below her sharp devil horns. She was obviously in Empress Mode.

"We fare well, Sin, how about thee?" I asked in a similar manner as her which made her grin broaden.

"Decently, for being in hell anyways; can't expect much when one lives here. So, why did you deem yourselves worthy of contacting my malevolent presence? Something that I can assist you with, oh my dear sweet inverse?" I scoffed at her cocky tone before retorting.

"Yes, actually, you have any recollection of the town Norowareta?" She rolled her eyes at me which made me slightly irritated.

"I may not know of many towns within your world, but yes, I do recall the name Norowareta. Was it the town that was originally blessed by an angel then cursed by ol' Lucifer?" I nodded before Sinuite continued, "yeah, I do know of it, why? Wait! Don't tell me, you're there right now and are the one causing a ruckus that made ol' Luci angry, right?" I cursed mentally.

"I forgot how fast news travels down there." A smug look came to Sin's face and I resisted the urge to punch it off but that'd do no good since not only do we need her, but I can't exactly punch through a Mirror.

"Well, it doesn't hurt that I'm the top-devil. Now, what do you need my help with?" I explained the situation and what I was hoping her to do. She remained silent the whole time with a serious look in her eyes.

"Sounds easy enough. Lucifer over here has been basically going on rage mode, but I can probably keep the others at bay. Overlord cannot leave Hell, Abyss doesn't really like dealing with mortals, the Guardians don't like dealing with Earthland unnecessarily, and the Deathly dudes have their hands full already. Not much convincing on my part, besides, there's this one noble devil, Choro, whose hosting a grandiose party tonight and all higher-class devils are invited. My job is basically taken care of, so let me know if you want me to take on either Princely or ole Lucifer." I shot her a grateful look, wow, never expected to give that to a hell's figure in my life.

"Thanks, Sin, but I'm planning on handling them by myself since I need to earn their respect." She gave me a warm, true smile.

"I'd say the same exact thing if I was in your situation." Her gaze flicked over to something behind me a sadistic smirk appeared on her face.

"Take good care of her, Castor Greve-ame, the Worldly One." I turned my head so fast I'm surprised that I didn't get any whiplash. The look on Castor's face would've been pretty hilarious minus the current situation. His stormy-silver eyes were wide and his mouth hung slightly open.

"You remember me?"

"Of course, not only are you the Worldly One, but it isn't every day that someone escapes from the Ab—"

"Okay, thanks a lot Sin for the help. See you next Nightmare meeting, probably?" I interrupted; she gave me a smirk before waving goodbye and cutting off the connection. I leaned back on the couch and sighed. Who knew that dealing with your devilish counterpart was so difficult?

When Lucy and Natsu returned, they were laughing at each other with red faces. Castor and I mutually decided not to comment on this observation. I briefly explained that Sin would be assisting us on hell's front and quickly reviewed the plan once again. Afterwards, the guys went into their room to get changed while I took Lucy into our room. I walked over to my bag and grabbed a star shaped lacrima pendant on a gold necklace that I had gotten from Deoxies before she took off for her meeting. I handed it to Lucy who looked at me quizzically.

"Deox had a prediction that you'd need to use Urano Metria on this job, but she didn't want you to use your magic that'll be needed for the actual fighting. She gave me this; it's a star lacrima that enhances any type of celestial magic. Once you're completely out of magic, use this to have enough magic to use Urano Metria. Not only will it do a ton of damage to the 'evil spirits,' but it'll also let me know that you guys are running out of magic and I should quickly finish off Prissy and Demon-king." Lucy gave me her heart-warming smile.

"I'll have to thank Deox-chan later for this." She clasped the lacrima around her neck, "how about you? You'll be taking on hell's hierarchy, who I've read briefly about; won't you need an extra boost of magic?" I smirked; Lucy was nice, she cared about all of her nakama which was obvious.

"Nah, I have a method to my madness. Besides, right now, we should get changed into clothes that are better suited for the battle." She nodded in agreement. I directed her in wearing tough leather boots that went just below her knee and had a low heel, armor-threaded leggings, a mini-skirt made for mobility, her brown belt with her keys and whip, a fitted pink tank top, black elbow guards, navy finger-less stretchy gloves, the lacrima charm as well as her heart earrings and her black wrist band, and her hair tied back in low pigtails. She looked prepped to fight an army. She stayed to watch me to put together my outfit after she was completely dressed. Me, I'm wearing knee-high armored black lace-up boots (with a small heel), red armored leggings, black armored pleated skirt, my favorite gray belt with my symbol (a red diamond-shape with black devil wings), a red tank-top, black locomotive leather jacket, red fingerless leather gloves, chain bracelets and my chain necklace with a smaller symbol, onyx dagger earrings, and my long red hair tied back in a high ponytail while my bangs still covered my right eye.

"I missed the feel of battle gear." I wistfully stated which made Lucy laugh.

"You're like Erza, she is rarely seen without her armor."

"True, I do prefer this type of outfit to others, but sometimes I'm just too lazy and want to wear sweats." We started laughing after Lucy agreed with this, unfortunately, my laugh was fake. I've forgotten how to laugh from the heart, and the only time I remember giggling slightly was when Castor was being a complete idiot added to his stubbornness when we were thirteen. That was a humorous day.

We exited our room together and we both took in the guys' outfits. Natsu was wearing his usual: black vest that has one long sleeve with a belt on that arm and gold trimming while his right arm only had his black wrist band, his scaled white scarf, a belt around his waist, the black tail from his vest, white baggy trousers that went to his calves, his sandals, and his salmon-pink hair in a spikey mess. I'm not too worried about Natsu wearing armor; plus I doubt that I could get him to wear it willingly. Castor, on the other hand, was wearing black combat boots, gray armor-threaded pants, yellow V-neck shirt with the world "World" written in black, gray leather vest, yellow elbow guards, gray leather fingerless gloves, his lightning pedant on a chain necklace and his one chain bracelet around his right wrist, and his black hair still a big slightly spikey mess. He still doesn't comprehend the use of a hair brush, but that's guys for you.

"What took you guys so long?" Natsu rudely asked making a vein pop on my forehead but I had no time to retort because Lucy had already smacked him upside the head.

"That's rude Natsu." He pouted at her which made the anger in her eyes dissolve.

"I simply asked a question."

"The way you asked it was rude."

"Sorry, Luce." The two smiled at each other before laughing. Meanwhile Castor and I had been watching the entire minor argument with a slight interest. No wonder those two go so well together. I began preparing a late dinner for the four of us while the other three were laughing about something that Natsu had said. I took a quick glance over my shoulder to see Castor's grinning face. I turned back to the meal with a small smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. It's good that Castor is finding more friends to hang out with. Ever since Cody had started dating Angelica (which was a "finally" moment) Cody has been spending more time with her instead of hanging out with Castor, and I could tell that Cas missed their guy conversations that occurred on a regular basis. Don't get Cas wrong, he totally supported the couple, in fact, he helped Cody confess, but that doesn't mean that he misses the intelligent guy who used to follow him around. He started becoming grouchier and trained more in the gym and then bugged the hell out of me when he was bored (which was all the time).

Ever since we've joined Fairy Tail, Deoxies has been happier and has been able to easily push any thoughts about her missing childhood friend away, Ange has never been seen without a smile on her face since she found other girls to hang out with (I'll admit, I'm not the best girl to chat with about girly things), Cody has found a crowd to hang out with since Castor used to be the only other guy, and Castor has found other guys around his strength level to fight an laugh with. This guild is slowly changing everyone for the better. Maybe it'll help me recover quicker in the future, too.

"Hey, Devs, is the meal ready yet? I'm starved." Castor's words jolted me from what I was thinking which completely annoyed me. Fire burned in my eyes as I grabbed the nearest cooking utensil, which happened to be a metal ladle, and threw it with dead-on accuracy at him. It hit Thunder mouth directly in the face and was an instant KO. I am satisfied, hence my arrogant smirk. As I turned back to preparing the meal, I heard Natsu whisper to Lucy with my devilish hearing,

"I'm never going to underestimate the power of cooking again!" After, I heard Lucy whisper her agreement. Ah, I love being a devil.

* * *

><p><strong>-Norowareta Town, Hell's Shrine, Twilight, Normal POV-<strong>

The four Fairy Tail wizards stood in front of the entrance to the Shrine while outside the barrier. Night was falling and it would be a moonless night; a night of total darkness. The mages were prepped in battle gear with Devilily Larmenoir in the front while Castor Greve-ame, Natsu Dragneel, and Lucy Heartfilia were behind her. A slight breeze rustled some strewn leaves as well as the clothing and hair of the wizards. The town had already been evacuated to a far corner of the town for them to be easily defended. Once the sun had completely slipped out of sight below the horizon, the third night had begun.

A daunting dark glow appeared around the Shrine as the four mages braced themselves for the fight. Suddenly, a horde of demons spewed forth from the shrine and made a clustered circle around it. Next came the devils, with all of their skins blood-red. They seemed to be waiting…but for what? This question was soon answered when two arrogant and regal figures strode out of the shrine.

The older looking one who resembled an adult had long silver hair with streaks of black. His ears pointed high upward to resemble horns while his eyes were pitch-black with slits of yellow. Red tinged his eyes and there was also three red scars, like claws marks, scratched over his left eye, which made them stand out against his bluish skin that had a translucent look since one could see the webs of dark red vessels. Protruding from his back were two pairs of wings: one black and feathery like an angel's the other was black and bat-like which was similar to a demon's. He was wearing dark armor with dark runes scrawled on them in a silvery calligraphy writing. On his shoulders was draped a leather dark gray cape that matched his ancient silver demonic crown. His fingers had long razor claws while there was a staff strapped to his back.

The other one looked to be about the same age as the mages with midnight black hair that was of medium length. His skin was deathly pale and his eyes were switching between cobalt-blue and crimson-red. A sarcastic sneer contorted his facial features that reached his slightly pointed ears while showing off his fangs. There was an obsidian band-crown on his head in symbolization of him being the crown prince of hell. He was also wearing a black cut-off button down shirt with blood-red edging and the collar up, two spiked belts, black spiked finger-less gloves, black ripped jeans tucked into black combat boots with spikes on the toe and heel. To complete his hellish style, around his neck hung a black chain necklace with a gray skull residing on a cobalt-blue blade and a red devil wing.

"Devilily." The teenage boy teased.

"Prince Rico." Devi snarled back maliciously.

"Cursed One." The older man stated.

"Demon-king Lucifer." The cursed one growled.

"Worldly Oaf." Prince Rico impishly identified.

"Prissy Prince." Castor retorted in a malevolent manner. Meanwhile the other two Fairy Tail mages were barely following the introductions and were more focused on the army. Lucifer steadied his gaze on Hell's Prince beside him.

"Rico, do not forget that the purpose of coming here was to fight the Heart—"

"Don't call me that." Devilily snapped in order to interrupt what the Demonic king was saying.

"—The Cursed One while leaving this army to handle the other three." The prince nodded while turning his attention back to the flame-head.

"I could never forget this rare opportunity to fight Devs—" He never got to finish since the hell mage punched him in the face so hard he went flying backwards over several buildings. Everyone stared at her in shock while a wicked smirk appeared on her face.

"This moonless night is waning meaning that your time-limit is vanishing rapidly, so why not get this brawl started?" Lucifer snapped out of his stupor and attempted in striking Devi who dodged and punched him in the gut before leaping high into the air in the direction away from all of the direction of the townspeople. Lucifer followed her with an evil laugh and there was a shadow also hot on Devilily's trail from the general direction that the Prince had flown in.

Natsu snapped out of his reverie first and blew all of the demons to ash with his Fire-dragon's roar. Castor was next and summoned a shredding cyclone on top of the shrine causing the vast majority of the devils to be caught up in it. Lucy summoned Aquarius from the water cyclone that Castor had created before summoning Scorpio as well.

"So, you've finally wised up enough to summon me with my _boyfriend_." Aquarius commented which all of the others heard making them sweat drop at the attitude.

"Don't emphasize it! Now prove to me that this was a wise decision by taking out the army!" Lucy ordered and the spiritual couple smiled.

"We are! Of course, shall we, Aquarius?" Scorpio asked while holding out his hand which Aquarius gladly took and together they brought down the might of the celestial spirits of water and sand and love. Natsu was going on a fire-dragon rampage defeating all demons who dare to get in his way. As a devil came up behind him without his knowledge, Lucy whacked it with her whip causing it to dissolve. Natsu turned and gave her his famous toothy grin.

"Thanks Luce!"

"No problem Natsu!"

"Don't let your guards down, lovebirds, the fight isn't over yet!" Castor shouted while enveloping a large group of devils in solid earth that successfully sent them back to hell. The two started blushing while continuing to fight.

* * *

><p>On Devilily's front, she was in heated battle against two of the most conniving hierarchical figures within hell. She was a blur of red and black as well as clangs whenever her Hell Battle Axe struck the Prince's Sword or the Demon-king's Staff. She stopped her onslaught of weapon attacks and used Dark Storm to throw the two off balance while using the winds to push her into the air and use Devil's Triangle. The Prince managed to dodge the Triangle, but Lucifer wasn't as lucky. An agonizing pain shot through his entire being as his magic was slowly drained. He roared in rage while the other two continued sparring.<p>

"I know your moves too well, Devi." Rico sneered at the devil and she spat in his face.

"Just because you contain knowledge for something doesn't mean you know the proper use of it." She kneed him in the stomach before summoning a chain of darkness which wrapped around the Prince making him immobile. Just as Devi was about to strike him down with her axe, Lucifer came up behind her and whacked her side with his staff causing the chain to unravel from the prince. Rico summoned a bolt of dark lightning which struck Devilily's right arm just as she transformed into her Red & Black Diamond Warrior form. Her stats all increased causing her to move blindingly fast and cut the two hell figures with her Diamond katana [a katana is a one-sided sword]. Dark blood started to ooze from the minor cuts, but this didn't slow the hellish figures down.

"Very clever, Cursed One, using your ability to summon more of your magic from hell in order to wear us out while you still have tons of magic to spare." The Demon-king commented with a snarl on warping his face.

"All in a night's work; but can you keep up with me?" Devi arrogantly retorted causing her opponents to roar in anger.

"It's true that you're incredibly powerful, but how long can your friends hold out against the army, I wonder?" Rico mocked causing the devil to growl and her face to contort into pure rage.

"I shall make sure that the two of you suffer tonight." She sprang into action and commenced the battle once again, but now in her Demon of Hell form. She took her opponents' weapons away from them with the use of her whip before engaging them in close combat with her demonic claws outstretched.

* * *

><p>The three wizards were near the fortified building where the townspeople were located. They had been doing quite well, but the army of "evil spirits" wasn't diminishing quickly enough. They were all running out of magic. Lucy was almost out and was dreading the use of Urano Metria. Natsu was still fighting with his fires, but they were becoming weaker since none of his opponents were using fire. Castor was only using more minor elemental attacks and was breathing heavily. All three had bruises and bloody cuts on their skin, but none of them were major.<p>

Eventually the three were backed up against the building, and Castor made a quick decision. He made a great ball of fire appear on his right fist and held it out for the fire dragon-slayer. Natsu looked at him with confusion written all over his face.

"Eat it; take the rest of my magic. I can use my weapons from now on, but you need the magic to keep going." Natsu didn't question this offer since he knew that nothing would change the worldly mage's mind. They were similar in a stubborn sense. As Natsu ate the flames, he could feel a ton of energy and magic returning to him. The fire was fueled by the world and Castor's trust and friendship with Natsu. The fire mage grinned after finishing.

"Thanks for the meal." The pinkette commented while Castor summoned his Worldly Battle Axe and Godly Hammer using the last ounces of his magic. Lucy had noticed the boys' exchange as she fended the demons and devils off with her spirits and whip.

The three continued battling: Castor with his weapons, Natsu with his renewed magic, and Lucy with her spirits and whip. The demons had been obliterated and only devils remained. They were vicious, attacking from all angles all the time giving no breaks to the mages. Sweat was dripping off of their bodies in waterfalls, but they couldn't stop. Not now, dawn was only three hours away. They could make it—or so they thought. A devil managed to get a lucky shot and a small dagger sliced into Lucy's calf causing her to scream in pain. Natsu heard this and made his way towards her with Castor covering his back. Natsu helped Lucy up while Castor kept the devils at bay.

"Can you stand?" Natsu asked in a comforting tone and Lucy nodded. She was leaning on Natsu as she slowly got up while fingering the star lacrima.

"I'm incredibly low on magic, so I think it's time that I used Urano Metria." The two guys stared at her in shock.

"Luce, are you crazy? That spell uses up a tone of magic, there's no way—"

"Use the lacrima Deox gave you. It should hold enough for the entire spell without you having to use any of your own magic. Crush it in your hands as you chant the spell, the magic will get channeled through you in order to be used in the spell." Castor interrupted after noticing that Lucy was fingering the necklace. Natsu stared at the lacrima as the celestial spirit mage tugged it from her throat. Natsu let her go as she gained balance on her one leg. He helped Castor keep the devils away while Lucy chanted the spell.

"_Survey the Heaven, Open the Heaven...All the stars, far and wide...Show me thy appearance...With such shine.__ O Tetrabiblos...I am the ruler of the stars...Aspect became complete...Open thy malevolent gate. O 88 Stars of the heaven...Shine! **Urano Metria**_!" Lucy crushed the lacrima in her hand and the spell activated. All of the devils within a forty-five meter radius vanished completely leaving everyone dumbfounded. Lucy started collapsing and Natsu immediately caught her while Castor kept his guard up.

"I thought that she wouldn't use any of her magic!" Natsu shouted while the worldly wizard kept his back to him.

"She didn't, she's only unconscious because a ton of magic entered and exited her body quickly—like a sugar rush. She'll only be down for about fifteen minutes, and when she wakes up she'll have a solid amount of magic left. Can you protect her for that long?" Castor asked after clarifying the details; he glanced over at the fire dragon-slayer who got a determined glint in his dark green eyes.

"I will protect Lucy, no matter what." Castor smirked at the comment before the two males reengaged in battle.

Ten minutes, that's all it took for the devils' forces to recover and come back stronger at the two male Fairy Tail mages. Castor's magic had been recovering, but he continued to use weapons while Natsu's magic had also started returning naturally, so he possessed more magic than Castor at the moment. Lucy was in a protected niche, made by Castor, while she was still unconscious. She would be like this for five more minutes, but things started turning sour.

The devils' forces were increasing and the two guys weren't going to be able to keep up with them. Devi had said that she'd try to wrap things up with hell's hierarchy after Lucy had used Urano Metria, but she still hadn't arrived. Castor gritted his teeth in frustration. He hated throwing in his pride and bowing to the devil willingly, but he hated seeing his friends getting injured more. The worldly mage took a deep breath before shouting at the top of his lungs,

"DEVILILY!"

* * *

><p>When only three hours were remaining of nighttime, she had seen the spell Urano Metria on the opposite side of town. Devi gritted her teeth; the two in front of her were more relentless than ever. No matter how many times she cut them down, they got back up again. It was now about ten minutes since the spell, and she had transformed into her Necromancer form right after it had been cast. The problem with this form was not only did she hate using the already dead to do her bidding, but the more magic she used in this form, the more of her old scars reopened. Blood was dripping from several of her old wounds now, and the worst one was her cursed scar. Her vision started getting hazy edges. Just as she was about to start attacking again, a voice rang across the town.<p>

"DEVILILY!" Devi whipped her head around to the source of the voice. Even though she didn't see him, she knew that it was Castor who called. No more time for fun and games. She transformed into her Dark Corruptor form and started chanting the most powerful Darkness spell.

"_O unholy forces of the divine darkness, lend me thy strength to curse my opponents to the abyssal darkness…Healer, Vial, Body…Gypsy, Star, Mind…Warrior, Feline, Spirit…Intellect, Cresent, Essence…and Leader, Flame, Shadow…The five pillars of night combined…**Dark Corruption**_!" Abyssal blackness encased the two hellish figures as they bellowed in rage at the cursed one, but she didn't stick around to witness her accomplishment.

She was gone to her friends with dark wings protruding from her back as she soared at devilish speed towards her friends. She could see them being surrounded by a growing army of devils. Lucy was unconscious, but she still had two minutes of recovery while the two guys were standing in front of her and the fortified building ready. Neither side was attacking, but the devil could sense that soon the devils would strike as one which would be too much.

Castor's dark gray eyes were darting back and forth, scanning the devils' army in front of him to gain any hints of when they might attack. Both him and Natsu were exhausted, physically. Their magic was at an average level where they could use it, but their energy was waning. The call for the devil had been unanswered.

Suddenly, the devils all attacked at once, and just as the two guy mages were about to strike back, a dark-cloaked black-winged figure dropped in front of them wielding a massive black scythe. The figure swung the scythe in a large arc causing the first three lines of devils to vanish while the others stepped back in fear. Castor smirked as the hood on the figure dropped to reveal long curly flaming red hair. Devilily was in Grim Reaper form, and even devils are scared of Death. She glided over to Castor and Natsu, her deathly pale face unscathed and emotionless.

"You called?" She nonchalantly inquired making the two guys angry.

"Yeah, like five minutes ago!" She rolled her eyes at the worldly mages comment.

"I had to tie up some loose ends. It took me a second to send the two annoying bastards to a dark oblivion. Yeesh, learn some patience why don't cha?" She retorted back just before the devils started regaining their wits and began to cautiously advance. It was then that Lucy also woke up and glanced around quickly at the situation before Natsu helped her up. Devilily and Castor, meanwhile, kept their gazes focused on the advancing army.

"No matter what we do, they come back; any ideas?" Nastu inquired to Devilily who nodded.

"They keep coming back because you guys aren't using hellish magic to keep them in hell."

"So what do we do?" Lucy asked and everyone had their attention on the Cursed One.

"I need you to trust me enough to take my hand, channel your remaining magic to me, and close your eyes. Do you trust me enough to do this?" Devilily Larmenoir asked the other three who were staring at her with wide eyes. Castor recovered first and immediately took her dominant hand before closing his gray eyes. Natsu and Lucy recovered soon afterwards and didn't hesitate to grasp Devi's right hand before closing both of their eyes.

Magic started flowing into the devil and she began radiating an ominous glow while her eyes were closed in concentration. She snapped her eyes open to reveal red irises and black whites just as everything flashed red before going dark. Devilily let go of all of their hands after everything was back to normal to signal that it was over causing the three to open their eyes and gape in shock. What they saw were miniature scorch marks where the devils had been located. They all turned to stare at the devil in awe but were cut short by the flame-head toppling over. Castor was behind her in an instant catching the majority of her while Lucy and Natsu each grabbed one of her arms. A grateful look shot through her eyes directed at each of them.

"Thanks, I just exhausted the vast majority of my magic." Devilily elucidated; she transformed back into her original form while numerous bloody slashes and bruises appeared on her body. Just as the three were about to reply, two dark people landed directly in front of the Fairy Tail mages.

"I would hope so after releasing a hell of a lot of magic." A familiar cocky voice spoke causing the mages to grit their teeth in rage. Price Rico and Demon-king Lucifer were a two meters away from the group and were staring at the mages in tattered clothing as well as bruises and cuts visible.

"What do you guys want? Another beating I suppose even though you still haven't recovered from the first one?" Castor growled causing a slight grin to appear on Natsu's face.

"As if, having Devi completely annihilate us and send us into a dark oblivion once is quite enough. Besides, it's not like you guys could handle another fight either."

"Shall we test that moronic theory?" Natsu roared while taking a step forward causing the Prince to do the same. Lucifer stepped between them to end the fight before it began.

"That's quite enough! Prince, both you and I lost, therefore it'd be unwise for us to pursue another battle."

"I agree, unless you want your pride to be insulted even more so." A new voice declared, and everyone turned to the source. Who they saw shocked four of them (Castor, Devi, Price Rico, and Lucifer) but stumped the other two (Lucy and Natsu). There was a girl who appeared to be the four mages' and the prince's age with long, straight black hair with red tips and bangs covering her left eye. Her right eye was a near black coloring with a sadistic glint in it that matched the smirk on her deathly pale face. On her head was an obsidian band-crown encrusted with onyx and red garnets that rested just below sharp blood-red devil horns. She was wearing a gray-armor breast plate, pointed red shoulder guards, elbow-high black gauntlets, a gray-armored skit above a black-leather pleated skirt, diamond-shaped chain-mail on her legs, knee-high black boots with a one-inch spiked heal, a gray belt with her symbol (black skinny diamond inside a red wider diamond and black devil wings one going up the other down), a chain necklace with her symbol, a thin black tail tipped with a red diamond-shape, and enormous diamond-shaped black & gray & red scaled wings (completely scaly) protruding from her back. When she was two meters away from everyone, she halted and crossed her arms with the smirk still plastered on her face.

"Devils Empress, what brings you here on this—"

"Cut the crap, ole Lucifer, you aren't fooling anyone. I'm here to ensure that you return to hell after you remove the curse you laid upon this town." The Devils Empress bluntly stated monotonously causing everyone to stare at her in even more surprise.

"I refuse to remove this curse; the town deserved it for not only defying an angel but also mocking hell." The Devils Empress rolled her eyes at this.

"I support my inverse on this; the past is the past. Move on, or else you'll get gray hair—wait, you already have gray hair!" She mocked causing everyone, but Lucifer, to start laughing. "All joking aside, if you won't remove the curse, then the two of you are done here, correct? If so, then leave, this is an order from me, the Devils Empress." Lucifer bared his fangs before disappearing into the shadows, but the Prince still didn't budge.

"You cannot order me around." He stated making the Empress smirk.

"True, but I can pummel you all the way to your palace where your father can see how miserably you've been beaten." He made a "tch" sound with his teeth before also disappearing into the shadows. The Empress sighed before her armor vanished to reveal her in an outfit similar to Devi's but in all black except the skirt and the shirt was a bloody-red. She grinned at the Fairy Tail mages which revealed her fangs.

"Hey guys, I'm Sinuite Lacrimater, ex-Guardian of the West Abyss, and the Devils Empress, at your service." Everyone stared at her blankly until Natsu broke the silence.

"Since you're a devil, does that mean we have to fight you as well?" Devi and Castor face palmed at this Sin started laughing while Lucy scolded Natsu who was looking very confused.

"Natsu, did you not just see how she helped us? Jeez, I'm sorry Sinuite-san for his idiocy." Sin kept on laughing while now officially rolling on the ground. Devilily let out a sigh, why did she have to come?

"Don't sweat it, I'd say the same thing in his situation, and please, just call me Sin; I hate formalities." Lucy nodded with a smile on her face making Sin nod in approval. She then directed her attention to Devilily.

"Hey, Sin, I thought you were going to stay in hell."

"Pssh, yah, right; my job was so-o-o boring, and what you were doing looked like fun. Besides, I'm going to help this town since my inverse wants me to." The flame-head rolled her eyes.

"I never said that I wanted your help with this."

"That doesn't mean that you don't_ need_ it." Devi huffed in annoyance at this while turning away and Sin just grinned mischievously. She turned her attention to the other three.

"Castor, it's good to see you again. I'm glad to have heard that you made it out of the Aby—"

"Yeah, it's great seeing you again, Sin." Sinuite looked startled at being interrupted, but then grinned while glancing back and forth between Castor and Devilily. She then turned her attention to the other two. She began striding up to them and took Lucy's hands which made Natsu tense slightly.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Lucy Heartfilia. Rumors fly around hell like hellfire, especially when one is a top-devil. You've achieved quite a lot, especially as a celestial spirit mage, and I admire your courage when it comes to your friends." Sin smiled causing Lucy to smile back while Natsu relaxed before Sinuite focused on him.

"Natsu Dragneel, there are definitely rumors about you, son of Fire Dragon King Igneel. Atlas Flame was certainly impressed and even bragged about you to Mirror, who told me in order to rub in my face that dragons are better than devils." She mumbled the last bit but everyone still caught it. Natsu was grinning by this point.

"You know Uncle?"

"Yeah, he was composed of flames including hellfire. His spirit now lies within all the flames burning in hell." Natsu's smile broadened.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but I've heard that devils were evil beings." Sinuite scoffed at this comment.

"Stereotypes, I despise them. There's a good chunk of devils that are like the rumors, but not all of them are. Look at me; do I appear to be like one of those evil, conniving, mischievous imps?" Natsu shook his head making Sin smile again. She then bounded back over to Devi.

"I'm going to delete the curse on the town by replacing it with my own. Bring out the mayor!"

When the mayor came out, he was completely terrified of Sinuite since she had changed back into her armor. The reason for this? She _wanted_ to scare the mayor witless; definitely a sadistic devil.

"Good morning Mayor of Norowareta, I trust you had a pleasant sleep?" The mayor nodded silently allowing Sin to continue. "Great, then I'll get straight to the point. I am the Devils Empress of Hell and I'm here to overrule the current curse upon this town with my own. My curse shall not only remove the current one, but make this a neutral town renamed as Nyutoraru, since having name of 'curse' mustn't attract a lot of tourists. But this gift comes at a price, just like all choices in life. In exchanged for removing the current curse, I shall take with me all of this town's wealth—" the four Fairy Tail mages cleared their throats, "—after, of course, you pay these four mages for their services to this town and for you to build a shrine dedicated to heaven opposite the shrine dedicated to hell. That should balance the power within this town."

The mayor reluctantly agreed to the terms and split the 500.000J into 125.000J for each of the mages before they grabbed their bags from the hotel while Sinuite Lacrimater settled the details with the mayor. After about an hour later and just as the four mages were about to leave, they saw the Devils Empress standing at the entrance to the train station.

"You're done with the curse?" Devilily monotonously asked Sin blinked at her.

"Yeah, this particular curse only took me a half an hour. You guys going back to Fairy Tail?" They all nodded which made Sinuite smile.

"Thanks, Sin, for everything." Lucy said while hugging the Devils Empress who was shocked at first but then hugged the blonde back.

"No problem, it was great meeting all of you," she turned to Devilily, "see you at next Nightmare meeting?" The flame-head nodded before Sinuite hugged her.

"Don't stress yourself too much, your majesty." Devi teased and Sin smirked sadistically.

"I'm a sadist, not a masochist; and I can say the same thing back at you, Heart of—"

"Don't you even _think_ about calling me _that_!" Sinuite's smirk broadened before she vanished into the shadows just as the sun rose above the horizon. It had been an incredibly long night. Soon, the train arrived at the station and the four mages all hopped on before all of them fell asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And done with that arc! Life has been keeping me busy recently, so updates may take longer. However, the next chapter will be a bit more relaxing. Anyways, I hoped reading this chapter was exciting and have a great day! ;)<br>**


	11. Chapter 10: The Girl Talk

**AN: Hey I'm back, finally! Sorry for the wait, I just couldn't find time to wrap up this chapter, but now I've got it! Informative, yet important, and it's from Deoxies perspective. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail which belongs to Hiro Mashima.**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 10: The Girl Talk<strong>

**-Fairy Tail Guild, October 25th, Deoxies's POV-**

It has been a day since I returned back to the guild from my Cosmic-Space meeting, and about two days for the Norowareta gang. Apparently, they were completely exhausted when they came back and crashed at their houses without even stopping at the guild. Cody had sent Master a message after seeing the two at home to say that they were back safely. The guild was just as rowdy as ever when I arrived. Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, and Castor were all brawling over something idiotic while Juvia boldly cheered for "Gray-sama" out in the open causing him to blush oh so slightly. I giggled; because of that kiss, Gray was becoming more aware of his innermost feelings for the water mage. I was happy for the two of them. Erza, after Jellal had left, was still upset for a few days until yesterday she asked if I'd be willing to go on a mission with her, just the two of us, tomorrow. She wanted to catch up with me, and I had delightfully agreed. I've been dying to go on a mission with either her or Lucy or both. I wanted to truly reveal my magic and to spend more time with them.

For all of the seven years, I've never forgotten this guild, and how many times I smiled, laughed, cried, fought, and even became embarrassed. This is my family, and when I had suggested that we should come here when my group said that they had seen enough of the world, I had heard that the Tenroujima group had returned safely and had even won the Magic Games tournament. Today, I'm going to spend the day at Lucy's house to make up for my interference with her and Natsu's shopping trip as well as for being unable to go on the mission.

I glanced around the guild and spotted Lucy at the bar counter laughing with Levy over something to do with books. Mira was in front of her while Lisanna was on the other side joining in the conversation. Erza had, to my surprise, gone over to the table that Devilily was sitting at and they were chatting with one another. I figured that those two would get along; they have a lot in common. I noticed Cody going and talking with Gramps and Gildarts while Angelica and Wendy joined the other girls' conversation with a broad smile adorning her facial features. Happy and Charle were happily chatting together when Pantherlily joined them. I'm happy that my group is comfortable here. When I had made it over to where the majority of the girls were, Mira was the first to notice me.

"Hello Deoxies-chan, how are you today?" She asked causing all of the other girls to turn their attention to me. I felt my face temperature to rise a few degrees from all of the attention.

"I—I'm good, Mira, how about you?" A blush rose on her face as sparkles began shining in her eyes.

"You are just so darn cute, Deoxies-chan!" She cried out while squishing me into a hug. My face is officially a tomato by this point.

"M—Mira! I can barely breathe!" I gasped as she released me causing all of the girls to laugh.

"When you spoke you looked like your ten-year-old self again making me squeal in delight. Didn't she girls?" A blush rose to my face as the girls all agreed with her.

"I'm seventeen though!" I cried out and Angelica came over to give me a hug.

"You look seventeen to me, Deoxies!" I smiled while patting her head since I'm taller than her by a lot even though I'm just above average height for a female. Ange is _that_ short.

"Well, obviously, we grew up together along with Cody, Castor, and Devi." She pouted cutely causing all of the girls, including myself, to squeal. She is definitely known as the petite innocent angel.

"Why do girls always squeal when I pout?" She innocently asked and Lisanna crouched down to her eye level.

"It's because you're so cute!" Ange's face turned bright red.

"I'm seventeen, too!" She stomped her foot, which just added to her cuteness. "Why doesn't anyone ever call Devi cute? She's the youngest!" Angelica whined causing everyone, except me, to stare at her skeptically.

"When was Devi's birthday?" Levy asked and I sighed.

"September. The next person in our group's birthday would be Te—" I slapped a hand over my mouth. Dang, I almost spoke _his_ name, but his birthday is next. November eleventh, he never let me forget it, not that I was going to anyway. His grin flashed through my mind, causing a slight frown to appear on my face involuntarily. He'd be turning eighteen, and I'd be spending his birthday like I do every year, buy him a unwrapped gift that I'd probably never be able to give and toss it in the spare bedroom across from mine.

The girls' conversation continued around me with Mira gently explaining to Ange that Devi had a more mature air around her, which I agree with. She's always been mature for her age, but the price was probably her emotions, or something else. I glanced over to where Devi and Erza were still chatting with one another. Erza's brown eyes were gleaming while Devi bore a fake smile on her face. You could always tell when she was faking emotions since the real one was always present in her eyes. I could feel Lucy's concerned stare on me, but I managed to ignore it until Ange came up to me and looked at me with those big sapphire-azure blue eyes.

"I love this guild, their so loving and don't lavish me in false praise! Thanks for bringing us here Deoxies!" She exclaimed in a cheerful tone which made me smile, but when I looked to the others, they all had confusion written on their faces.

"Angelica, what do you mean by 'false praise'?" Ange's smile wavered slightly.

"When I was younger, before Devi met me, I was always lavished in false praise by everyone in my village since I am the blessed one. I didn't realize it then, but when Devi came into my life, she bluntly told me that they were all lying and asked if any of them ever really got to know me. When I reflected on it later, I came to the conclusion that she was correct, after we fought, of course, and she won. I ran away with her, she was the only person in my whole life until that point that had been truly honest. Thanks to her, I met Deoxies, Castor, Co-Co, and had the opportunity to meet all of you in this guild allowing me to be able to live my life happily with people who love me for who I am, not my title." All of the girls had tears in their eyes as they ran up and hugged the little angel. I smiled while wiping away the tears that had collected in my eyes. I'm glad that Angelica is finally truly content with a family who loves her wholeheartedly. I glanced over at Erza's and Devi's table and saw Erza with tears in her eyes while Devi had her one eyebrow raised in question. They must've heard Angelica's tale and Devi must be wondering why the hug. I shrugged at her and she went back to whatever she was doing.

Cody, seeing his girlfriend getting surrounded by a horde of females, strode over to us with concern evident in his bright green eyes. I thought it was sweet, he always puts Ange's needs first, and it's the same for Ange when it comes to Cody. They're such a perfect couple, and I'll kill anyone who tries to break them up. The girls, noticing the oncoming boyfriend, cleared a path for the time-space mage.

"An-An, is everything alright?" He asked in his polite and mature tone that was comforting. Ange nodded and ran up to him to give him a hug. We all "awed" at the sight.

"Yeah, I just told them how I met Devi." He crouched down to meet her eye level; this always amuses me, the tallest and the shortest within our group turned out to be a perfect match for one another.

"And I'm glad that you did or else I'd never have been able to meet the love of my life." Sparkles danced around their lovey-dovey atmosphere. Some of the jerk guys (cough, Elfman, Gajeel, Natsu, Castor, cough) made gagging sounds or disgusted faces while everyone else "awed," again. Ange gave Cody giant hug before she went back to the girls and Cody went back to his discussion with Gildarts and Gramps. I turned my attention to Lucy which she noticed and looked at me with her brown eyes.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked and she nodded with her famous smile. We waved goodbye to the guild as we strode out of the entrance. We started off our journey to Lucy's house in silence. When we made it to the edge of the canal, we both started walking on the edge, since I was in front of her, I turned around and started walking backwards making us laugh.

"You like walking on the edge, too?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, life is too short to always be cautious, and the only risk in this is falling into the canal and getting wet. Not very life-threatening." We started laughing again before Lucy got a more serious look in her eyes.

"I'd never guess that Ange-chan would've had a past like that." My multicolored eyes softened along with the gentleness of Lucy's voice.

"Yeah, she and Cody's were similar, except Cody was overly-admired for his magic until Castor waltzed into his life. In a sense, Devi and Castor are saviors to them, which is kind of ironic considering their personalities." I let out a laugh at the thought causing Lucy to giggle. We had finally reached her house and she unlocked the entrance before we stepped through the threshold. Lucy quickly prepared a cup of tea for both of us and brought out some snacks. It took a minute before conversation started up between us again.

"On the mission, I learned a lot about Castor and Devi, but the majority of it I don't understand." I raised an eyebrow in question; it was unusual for those two to be willing to give information about themselves.

"Oh? And what might you not understand? I'll see if I can clarify it without getting killed by the devil." Lucy smiled at this comment causing me to also grin. It's true though, if I exposed too many of Devi's secrets unnecessarily then I'm screwed. Lucy, sensing this, chose her words carefully.

"One example would be that Devi and Castor consider themselves to be good friends, which was apparently a shock for Castor."

"I can see why it would be, when the devil says that she trust you enough to put you under her friend category, that's huge. She's getting better at trusting people, but don't be discouraged if it takes her a while to completely open up. Heck, I've never even seen her true smile before, and it's been seven years! Neither has Ange, and she's known Devi for nine!" Lucy blinked blankly in surprise at this fact which made me slap my hand over my mouth. I said too much, please don't let Devi know about this, universe!

"That's…weird, because when I eavesdropped on her and Castor's conversation one time I swear I saw her true smile come out, but it only lasted a few seconds." I bit my lip; we are treading on ice as thin as hair.

"Were you able to see her eyes?" Lucy shook her head which made me internally relieved. "Then it probably was a fake smile, she's incredibly good at faking her emotions, but the one place where you can always see her true emotions, if you know her well enough, is in her eyes. If the smile doesn't reach her eyes, then it's fake no matter how real it looks." Lucy nodded and I internally congratulated myself. I hate not being able to tell the whole truth to Lucy, but this isn't something I should explain without prior clearance from Devi. She has to be willing to share her burden, not me handing out to others.

"Devi's magic...what type is she? Like a holder—"

"To make it simple, it's similar to Erza's re-quip magic that allows her to change her armor causing various stats to be raised. For Devi, it's a 'transformation,' her magic alters with her new form and she regains her magic. The reason for this is because she's summoning her magic from hell which comes in various forms depending upon what portion of hell that the magic was from. However, any and all injuries sustained in each of the forms will appear on her normal personnel, so she has to be careful." Lucy's eyes were darting back and forth in thought before they widened in realization.

"Is that why nobody can get a gauge on her magic? Because not all of her magic is there which means that only someone who's fought her with magic is enabled to have a better grasp on how much magic she contains. That's why she's the most underestimated person, isn't it?" I forgot how intelligent Lucy is, she nailed it.

"Yeah, basically, plus her being emotionless doesn't exactly help." She started laughing and I cracked a smile. This was fun, and this is what I didn't get to do with any of the other girls on my team since Devi is only found training, studying, or cooking, while Ange usually doesn't catch intelligent things, so it sometimes it feels like I'm talking to a wall. I can carry on intelligent conversations with Cody, but he prefers spending time with Ange and he isn't a girl. Castor…definitely not, not only is he not of the female gender, but he'd rather be training than talking about something smart. Granit, I love them all to death, they are my family when I didn't have Fairy Tail, and they still are, but sometimes I just wish I could have a decent conversation for once that didn't end in Devi and Castor bickering, Ange crying into Cody, and me sighing in exasperation; that'd take a miracle, I'd rather save my miracles for something more worthwhile.

"I know that I've asked you this before, but I overheard a conversation between Castor and Devilily about Castor's nightmares, and I was wondering what exactly is going on. I mean, both he and Devilily have nightmares on a somewhat regular basis?" Lucy questioned in a thought out manner. These topics are very fragile between giving too much away and downright avoidance. I needed to word my answer carefully.

"Because Devi is the Cursed One, she is forced to have some sort of nightmare every time she falls asleep. Castor's nightmares are more complicated and happen less frequently in a somewhat predictable pattern. I can't give you details about what their nightmares entitle, since they put up blocks to prevent me from knowing, so you'll have to ask them about their dreams." Lucy looked as if she wasn't satisfied with this answer, but it was all that I could give that was true and not overstepping any boundaries. It was true that I don't know _exactly_ what every single one of their horrid dreams are about, but I could predict some of them.

"Castor's magic is a bit strange, too."

"Well, he is the Worldly One. His magic domain is anything that has to do with the physical world and living magic. He has resistance to worldly magic, which was why Natsu's flames didn't do much damage, but the 'dragon' part of them affected him a bit. It was like a hard punch with an extra kick. Elements, weather, all of that's under his magical domain, but he can also control plant life, a bit, and can talk to animals if need be. It's actually quite amusing when he does communicate with wildlife." The two of us started laughing at the image of Castor talking to animals and Lucy made the comment that the entire idea was hilarious, which I agree with wholeheartedly.

"That doesn't really fit Castor's image, and speaking of which, his personality is so…complicated." Lucy noted and my eyes down casted. That question was about the very depths of Castor's being.

"Castor, he is actually quite the loyal, friendly, and amusing person, once you get to know him; but he has a rough outer crust that is meant to fend off enemies." Lucy nodded solemnly in comprehension and I could tell that she was thinking about Erza who wore the armor of scariness in order to protect the nice, friendly, yet slightly fragile girl beneath. Everyone had their own way of creating barriers around themselves for protection. Castor's was his gruffness, Devi her emotionlessness, and Erza her armor. It makes being their close friends who got to see their inner selves even more enjoyable.

"I think that's it for now about the two of them. Do you have any questions for me?" Lucy asked which jerked me from my train of thoughts about invisible armor.

"Yeah, I know that I asked this once when I was ten, but I'm going to ask again: do you like Natsu in a more special way?"

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><p><strong>AN: Dun, dun, duuun! Another cliffhanger just because. They're fun writing, but please don't kill me because of it! I can't write more then! Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed reading this and look forward to the next chapter! ;)<strong>


	12. Chapter 11: The Puzzling Mission

**AN: Chapter eleven is finally finished! And no, in this chapter there isn't an answer to the last cliffhanger since this chapter is about Deoxies and Erza on their mission. However, do not fret because I'll get around to answering _that_ eventually. *evil laugh* Anyways, enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 11: The Puzzling Mission<span>**

**-Oshibana, October 26th, Erza's POV-**

"It feels nice to be out and about again, wouldn't you agree, Deox?" I inquired to my travelling companion while stretching in the rising sunlight. We had left early in the morning by train to get to Oshibana where the mission takes place. It's an easier mission where the two of us are catching a notorious gang of robbers for a good sum of Jewels.

"Uh…yeah, sure, let's go with that." Deoxies stated while looking a bit pale. She had looked even paler on the train ride and I had to remind myself that she was technically a dragon slayer so she probably couldn't handle transportation very well, but she didn't look as nearly as bad as Natsu usually does. I smiled softly, Deoxies had really grown up from when she was ten, anyone could tell. She walks with a more mature feminine air, her face was a bit more angular, currently violet eyes with a more mature edge, and she even acted more like an adult. Then again, she is seventeen, still younger than myself but relatively the same age as Lucy. On her collar bone there was a feint outline of an old scar which I remembered the wound that caused it when she was ten. After a few minutes I realized that Deox had been trying to get my attention.

"Oh, sorry, what were you saying, Deoxies?" She frowned slightly with worry written in her eyes. She acted like a mixture between Lucy and myself the majority of the time with hints of Mira woven into her character. I'd say that Fairy Tail has affected her.

"I said that we should probably show up at the client's house to say that we've arrived before checking into a hotel, if necessary." I nodded in agreement while leading the way to the client's house. Upon arrival, I noticed the grandeur of the place and how it looked like an older building with three stories and a pleasant garden surrounding it. It'd be nice if I were ever able to settle down somewhere like this and raise a family with—I discontinued that thought. I was on this job to not only get to spend more time with Deoxies but to also move on from the pain of Jellal leaving. No reminiscing about such things, at least, not on the job. Deox rang the doorbell while looking at me over her shoulder with worry written across her features. I forced a grin which I could tell did absolutely nothing since Deoxies saw right through it. She mouthed "we'll talk later" just as the front door opened. Inside was a middle-aged couple with them wearing more formal attire. I began to feel slightly embarrassed for simply wearing armor, but when I glance over at Deox and saw how casual she was, I relaxed. She was simply wearing a tighter-fitting sweatshirt, skinny jeans, and boots with her dark multi-colored hair tied back in a braid. It was very casual yet very comfortable and practical.

"You two must be the mages from Fairy Tail, correct?" The male adult questioned and both Deoxies and I nodded.

"Good, you may come in and I'll explain the details of the job." We stepped through the threshold to a typical ancient-looking, wealthy home consisting of polished wood floors and half walls while the designs on the upper portions of the wall were pale pastel coloring and pleasing to the eye. We made it to a lounge room with expensive-looking mahogany seating arranged nicely on a floor carpet. While I was still taking in the overall look of the house, Deoxies started the conversation.

"On the request, you said that you would like my partner and I to catch a gang of thieves, correct?" For a moment, I couldn't believe how easy-going Deoxies was about the house, then again, Lucy informed me that Deoxies and her friends lived in a giant mansion, so this was probably nothing in comparison.

"What my partner is specifically asking, is what do the thieves usually steal, from where, and if they use any magic?" I elucidated for the clients who nodded in comprehension.

"Well, there isn't any sort of specific shop that they steal from; they've been jumping all over, you see, and we've heard some reports that they sometimes use magic, but other times don't." This made tracking them extremely difficult for Deoxies and I. If there was some sort of pattern, we'd be able to predict their moves better.

"Would you mind giving us a map of the town and marking the places that were stolen from as well as the times when magic was used?" Deoxies inquired politely and the adult female client nodded before pulling out a map from a nearby bookshelf and placing it on the coffee table in front of us. Deoxies whipped out two different colored markers from nowhere and bent over the map. "Now could you please point to the locations and tell me if magic was sighted?" The clients nodded and started doing as Deox asked. As she started marking the map with different colors, I realized what was happening. There was, in fact, a pattern. When hearing about the attacks, it didn't make any sense, but visualizing it…

"I think I know where they will strike next, so in terms of the matter of payment?" I asked turning my attention away from the map that Deoxies was currently folding up.

"Yes, you will receive 200,000 J upon the capture and handing over of the criminals." Deoxies and I bid the clients farewell after this was stated before wandering the streets. When we arrived in the location that I predicted will have the next thievery, Deoxies pulled me over into a nearby café where we sat down at a booth. A waitress came over and we both ordered some simple sandwiches and beverages before talking about the job.

"Now that we know the general location, do we just wait until something happens?" I asked Deoxies who pulled out the map again and gently set it on the table.

"You're right, this is the location, but there's more than that. Look at it from this angle, do you notice anything strange?" I stared at the map. There were eleven "x" marks, six of which were black standing for no magic used, and five were red signifying that magic was used. There was a gap that was wider than the others in the circle formation. Deoxies had even wrote small numbers next to each "x" to mark which one happened in order. Eventually I shook my head, this was complicated, and Lucy was usually good at this type of stuff on missions. "The thieves aren't just choosing locations in a circle, they're moving like a clock. First they started with the quarters: twelve, three, six, and nine. Then they went backwards starting with eleven and going quarters: eleven, eight, five, and two. Finally, they went forwards once again starting with one: one, four, and seven. Now, they are going to head for the "ten" position, here; therefore, they are going to strike at ten o'clock. Also, when they strike with magic, it was during daylight hours since the magic would notify people in the dark of their location." I started catching on to what she was saying.

"What you're saying is that we just have to wait till ten o'clock am, which is in an hour, for the bandits here. That's ingenious, Deoxies!" She blushed while starting to put the map away since she noticed our food was coming.

"Not really, I just happened to notice the pattern being laid out as the client told me the locations." She took a bite of her sandwich.

"Actually it is impressive, I never would have thought of that. How'd you know what location was twelve o'clock?"

"You see that clock tower?" She pointed out the window and I saw the clock tower she was referring to. "That's in the dead center of the circle of attacks. If you were to look at the clock on it, twelve is in that direction which is in the direction of the first attack." How does she notice all of these little details? She and Lucy both are unbelievable when it comes to this kind of thing. "So, going back to what you were thinking before we entered the client's house, what was on your mind?" She simply inquired and I put my sandwich down. It was alright to tell her, right?

"I was thinking about Jellal." She nodded, and I continued. "It's just really hard being without him, you know? But, I agreed to our long-distance relationship, so I have to suck up the pain and move forward." I took a swig of my beverage and I noticed that Deoxies had stopped eating.

"I admire that, I really do. You are able to be so strong on the outside, and move forward with an independent air around you. However, I think it's alright for you to be a little selfish here and say that you want him to be by your side all the time. It's important to remember that you're no longer a lone fighter; you have someone to share the burden with now. Just remember that, and you're not alone. If you ever need someone to talk you, well, I'm here." I felt my lip tremble. Deoxies is so nice, and then I remembered. Her childhood friend is missing, Lucy told me that as well. Deox hasn't seen him since she was eight when he left without saying goodbye, and never informed her of his whereabouts even once these past years. She understands what I'm going through better than most people.

"Thanks, Deoxies, I'll keep that in mind, and know that it's the same for you if you ever need to talk." A sad smile appeared on her face before us both changed the subject to something lighter causing us to laugh while finishing our meal. At the end of all of it, we still had five minutes before the attack was scheduled to happen. We agreed to act as normal as possible and to separate to cover more of the location. I started window shopping in a more casual outfit, which helped make me seem more natural.

When the clock tower rang out that it was exactly ten o'clock, I waited. Nothing, not even a small scream to verify that the bandits had shown up. Just as I was about to dash off to Deoxies to see if anything happened in her area, I heard a loud explosion from a nearby bakery. People were running away screaming from it as a group of thief-looking men strode out of the burning building with containers of fresh baked goods in their arms. Oh no, they did NOT just steal from a BAKERY where delicious CAKES are made! I re-quipped into my normal armor with swords in hand and pointed them directly at the group with my harshest glare possible.

"You there, stop what you are doing right now!" They all turned towards me and sneered. Okay, now they're all dead meat. You just didn't disobey me. One of them used a concealing magic causing all of them to start dashing off into a thick cloud of noxious gas. I re-quipped into my Flight armor and took off after them. When I caught up with them, there was a massive fight that issued, but whenever one of them went down, I had to catch the baked good and place it in a safe place before taking off again. This wasted too much time, and just as I was about to transform into a more powerful armor, I slammed into some sort of invisible wall. The thieves were on the other side snickering at me. Dammit! They erected a magical barrier that probably wouldn't dispel until they were in their hideout which location was unknown. Just as the gang was about to take off, I heard someone yell viciously behind me.

"Erza, get out of the way!" I turned and saw Deoxies coming flying at me with a massive sword at the ready. The sword's blade was huge with the end of it curving into a sharp curve that was claw-like, yet Deoxies wielded it like it was nothing. Just as I was about to tell her that there was a barrier in the way, she sliced at the barrier with her sword which slashed clean through the wall of magic causing it to dissipate. That sword was anti-magical, how Deoxies managed to get a hold of it, was a mystery to me. However, my partner wasted no time in leaping high in the air where she de-summoned her sword and instead summoned a staff with a weird decoration at the end of it. The decoration looked like a circle with a ten pointed star in it with mystical beads hanging off it. Deoxies started glowing as she closed her eyes and started chanting something.

"_O brilliant stars that shine upon this land, I, the universal spirit master, summon thy presence to my aid. O the great guiding beacon of the North, Polaris! O the brightly burning red giant, Betelgeuse!_" Two shimmering figures appeared in front of Deoxies. Both appeared to be in the form of giant felines with one of them having all of the cool colors as fur with bright stars circling its body and shiny black orbs as eyes, while the other one was a brilliant red coloring with three long fluffy tails that appeared to be similar to fire and glossy black eyes as well. I could tell that they were spirits, but I had never heard of these ones.

Deoxies seemed to have given them a command since they sprang into action of darting around all of the bandits in a specific formation. I leapt to the top of one of the nearby building for a better view. What I saw caused my eyes to widen in shock. They had created an immobilizing circle with their movements, and all of the bandits couldn't move from their location. The spirits that Deoxies had summoned even grabbed all of the stolen goods and they seemed to be waiting for something.

"Erza, now!" Deoxies yelled and I immediately knew what she meant. I re-quipped to my Heaven's Wheel Armor.

"Circle Sword!" I yelled as my swords created a glowing circle around me before striking down all of the thieves leaving them unconscious. I landed on the ground firmly and I heard Deoxies lightly land next to me with her Spirits on either side of her.

After several minutes and I ex-quipped my armor to my usual outfit while Deoxies de-summoned her two spirits, the client with the rune knights showed up and took the notorious group away before paying us our money while returning all of the stolen goods to the owner of the bakery who happily gave me a large cake for Deoxies and my services. I was ecstatic as I happily ate the cake on the train ride home while Deoxies tried not to be sick because of her motion sickness. Once I had finished that delectable delicacy, I decided to start conversation between Deoxies and I.

"So, you really do get motion sickness." I commented and Deoxies sent me a withering look.

"Of course, I'm a dragon-slayer. Wendy is the only one who may be able to avoid getting motion sickness since her magic naturally repels it. I, on the other hand, am not a Sky Dragon slayer and therefore become ill on any mode of transportation. Though, it's lessened than most." I laughed as her face continued to become paler and a bit greener as we reached a bumpier section of tracks.

"Speaking of being a Dragon slayer, how come you didn't use any dragon slaying attacks earlier?" She sighed at my inquiry before answering when she was a little less pale.

"My dragon slaying magic is more powerful than my regular universal magic. I thought it'd be best if I didn't use those types of attacks on those amateur wizards. My universal magic may be less powerful, but it is easier to use since all I have to do sometimes is snap my fingers while visualizing what I would like to happen. Like I said though, my Universal dragon slayer magic is more powerful and the attacks are more full-frontal. Then it's Dragon Force when I manage to get into that mode, and lastly Universal Rage is the most powerful." I was curious now, what was universal rage?

"Deoxies, I've never heard of the spell 'universal rage' before, what is it?" She sighed again, before getting a serious look in her multi-colored eyes.

"The magic 'universal rage' is so powerful that it could destroy the universe if I wanted it to, and it's only one type of skill, like offense, defense, healing, at one usage, but it completely drains all of my magic after its use. It's like me absorbing the entire universe for one specific task leaving nothing left in my reservoirs of magic. I'm completely vulnerable after using it and it's far too dangerous to use on a regular basis. So I never use it. Now, could you stop asking questions because I think I'm going to puke if I leave my mouth open." I laughed at the thought but said nothing as my mind reeled at the information that I was just given. Who knew that this girl was capable of such a powerful magic?

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><p><strong> -Fairy Tail Guild, Later that Day, Normal POV-<strong>

When Erza and Deoxies returned from their mission, the guild celebrated a job well done without the guild getting sent any payments for destroying the town. The party, as usual, involved drinking, fighting, destroying of the guild, Erza's wrath, Master's tears, and a hell of a fun time. Even Devilily joined in and could be seen with amusement dancing in her ruby red eyes. Ever since she, Castor, Lucy, and Natsu returned from the mission, the four of them had been close and Devi started letting more of her true emotions appear in her eyes. Castor was being more outwardly loud and being his natural fun and troublemaker self, causing all of the guys in the guild to easily get along with him and become his friend before starting a ludicrous brawl, which was amusing to watch. Deoxies easily conversed with whoever was near here her and was easily laughing with her family with usually Lucy, Erza, or Mira by her side like when she was younger. Angelica was carefree and giddy all the time whether she be with everyone in the guild or with Cody by her side. Meanwhile, Cody happily got along with anyone and managed to become friends with both genders due to his polite and mature nature. The newcomers felt as ease in their new home, which was a pleasant sight to see for the Master as he sat with a grin spanning his entire face as he watched his family joyfully interact with one another.

The five newer members later decided as they walked on their way back to their mansion that it was time to tell the guild of their backgrounds. It was time that the guild knew just how they received their magic and what their lives were like before the five of them had met up when they were ten, after Deoxies had originally left the guild.

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><p><strong>AN: Done! I hope that my writing in Erza's perspective actually sounded like her and not OOC, but I apologize if it did! The next few chapters is going to be focusing on my OCs, since I feel like it'd be a good idea to have them tell about their backgrounds to the guild. To wrap this up, thank you for reading this update and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day! Reviews are always welcome! ;)<strong>


	13. Chapter 12: Past of Heaven & Dimension

**AN: Here's the next chapter which is the start of the backgrounds of my group of OCs. This chapter is about Angelica and Cody, hence the title of the chapter, and it may be a bit solemn, but there are cute moments in here too! On that note, I hope you all enjoy reading it!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 12: The Past of Heaven &amp; Dimension<strong>

**-Fairy Tail Guild, October 30th, Cody's POV-**

These past couple of days Deoxies, Ange, Devilily, Castor and I have all been discussing when we should tell the guild about our histories. We decided to break it up so that we didn't overwhelm them all at once, that'd be quite a predicament, yet tell them when we were ready. Today, Ange and I have decided that it'd be best if we told our stories since they aren't nearly as dreadful as the others. One step at a time, or in this case, two since both An-An and I are going.

Today is a bright and sunny day, even if it'll be slightly soiled by our backgrounds, but the guild has a right to know; know exactly who we are and what caused us to become who we are today. I had informed Deoxies of this beforehand while we were eating breakfast at the house, and she agreed to inform the Master of the plan so that he would be present. I glanced over at my girlfriend, she looks scared with her beautiful sapphire-azure eyes wide with tears welling and her small hands tightly knitted together. I calmed my own nerves for her sake. It wouldn't do me any good to be anxious; I needed to be level-minded for Ange. I gently took one of her hands with my hands and we interlaced our fingers together. She took a deep breath and looked up at me with gratefulness present in her luminous eyes.

"Thank you, Cody." She smiled her angelic smile up at me which immediately caused my chest to grow warm and for me to smile back at her.

"Any time, Angelica."

"I'm just nervous that they won't accept us afterwards, you know?" I crouched down to meet her eye level. Tears were once again welling in her innocent eyes, and I quickly brushed them away gently with my thumbs.

"Angelica, do you really believe that? This guild already is family for us, even more so than our own. I know that in here you feel more elated than you have ever felt in your entire life. And this guild knows it, they want you to be happy, and you help make them happy. None of them will ever turn your back on you, I can feel it. As long as you're your usual self, nothing shall go wrong, my petite angel." I kissed her forehead for reassurance and she blushed heavily while smiling broadly.

"I know, thank you for reminding me, Cody! I love you!" She pecked my nose before skipping off towards the other girls in the guild with an extra bounce in her step. Gosh, I love that girl. I turned and looked at the other guys, which were Gajeel-san, Gray-san, Natsu-san, and Castor, at the moment. They were all smirking at me with mischievous glints in their different colored eyes. I sighed, must I deal with these dimwits now?

"If there is something you wish to tell me, I am all ears, fellow guild members." I said in my usual polite manner since there was no point in getting angry at mere curiosity.

"I see that you and Ange are finally at the point where you two can display your relationship in public, Cody." Castor teased and the other guys laughed.

"Yes, and I do hope that all of your relationships are going smoothly. Gajeel-san, how are you faring with Levy-san? Still hiding your blatant feelings towards the solid-script mage?" Red flared on his cheeks as he stuttered a line of incoherent words that were curses, excuses, or a mix. I couldn't tell. I then turned my attention on Gray-san. "Gray-san, how was your date with Juvia-san the other day? If I recall correctly, you openly kissed her on the cheek on your way of walking her home. Though, no one else was around to see it and you told her to keep it a secret." Now it was Gray-san's turn to become flabbergasted as I turned to my next victim. "How was your little excursion with Lucy-san, Natsu-san? Is it correct to assume that the two of you are a tad bit closer since you seemed to watch her with your eyes the whole day afterwards when the two of you were asking if anyone would like to go on that mission with you?" Natsu-san yelped in surprise and his cheeks turned a bit pink, but he obviously doesn't fully realize his feelings for Lucy-san yet, and neither does she for that matter. Such a dense couple, which is similar to my last victim on my list. "Castor, must I say anything about you and Devilily?" I turned away as Castor yelled at me that there was nothing between them, but I knew better. It's unfortunate that neither one of them can come out and say it, though I think I know the reason why.

It was at this time that Deoxies came out of Master's office with him in tow and the two were smiling. It's good to see her mind off of her missing childhood friend; that burden has been hindering her ability to truly relax ever since I've known her. She noticed my stare and nodded at me before joining the crowd of girls where the other two from our group were. I strode over to them while scanning over their head to find my little sky-bluenette angel. I noticed Devi talking to Lucy-san and Erza-san when Mira-san, Deoxies, and Cana-san joined them. Meanwhile, Ange was laughing happily with Lisanna-san, Wendy-san, Levy-san, and Juvia-san. When the girls noticed me coming towards my girlfriend, they cleared a path for me and Ange turned to meet my eyes. She jumped down from her bar stool and ran over to give me a hug which I reciprocated.

"An-An, are you ready?" She looked up at me and smiled warmly.

"Yup, Co-Co." The two of us walked hand in hand towards the stage while the girls behind us awed at our display of affection. I grabbed two chairs before heading up the steps with Angelica in front of me. When we reached the actual stage, I set up the two chairs before clearing my throat before the guild. Nothing transpired, and I sighed. This guild really is too loud sometimes. I felt a tap on my arm and saw Angelica trying to contain her laughter. "Cody, it isn't that simple to get the guild's attention, more like this." She summoned her Angel Queen's Staff and closed her eyes while her arms were extended in front of her. A magic circle glowed sky-blue beneath her feet as she chanted a light spell quietly. Just before the spell was released, I spotted Devilily and noticed that she had erected a dark barrier around herself to prevent herself from taking any damage from the heaven's magic that was about to be displayed. The magic was a flash of bright, pure white light that was like a gentle breeze throughout the guild, except with a blinding light as well. It didn't cause any damage if one wasn't the Cursed One, but it did manage to successfully attain everyone's attention. I cleared my throat before speaking to the guild.

"I know that we have not been a part of the guild for long, but Ange and I, as well as the rest of the group, already feel like we've been a piece of this family for ages." I paused and took in everyone's expressions of joy. I continued after Angelica came up and grasped my hand causing my smile to broaden. "Therefore, Ange and I would like to tell you all our histories today in greater detail." Everyone scurried around to find a seat including Ange and I. Our hands were still interlaced as old memories resurfaced in the front of my mind. They were slightly painful, but I knew, deep down, that by uttering their tale aloud their pain would lessen. I squeezed Angelica's hand before speaking up once again.

"A long time ago, I was born on December eighth. My parents loved me, and on my first birthday, I was bestowed by the force of dimensions the ancient magic of dimensions, time, and space. Since the magic was so old and unheard of, many from miles around came to see the boy with the incredible magic. For years, I was taught by my parents to be polite to all those who admired me, even if I was sickened by their false praise and their stares full of wonder.

"Over the years, I obtained a younger brother, who was kept far away from me since my parents didn't want him to 'taint' my powers. This is what truly appalled me; why couldn't I spend time with my only sibling who was completely void of any corruption? My parents, village, and others believed that anyone without the permission couldn't be near me, even if it was my own flesh and blood. I despised this, but kept on my polite front and stayed since I couldn't run off on my own, I had no knowledge of the outside world other than the snippets I managed to obtain from those who had come from out of town and books I had stealthily read under my parent's noses.

"When I was eight, that all changed. A boy about my age wondered into my town and stared at me curiously, but not like the others, and asked me the simple question of 'do you really want to spend your life here in this prison?' When nobody was looking, I shook my head, and the boy smiled. 'Then why don't you come with me and we can travel the world together?' I took up his offer and I quickly packed as many necessities that I could think of in a single bag before running away with him. Two years later, I met Ange, Devilily, and Deoxies on a job that the boy—Castor—and I had taken which was when I had finally found my first family before coming here; to my new and more loving family." I finished with the guild still in complete silence as the memories of _that_ time continued to swirl in my eyes. It was hard to block out but when someone, I think it was Gray-san, yelled out that they're glad that I'm here as well, I felt tears brim my eyes. It was after that that the guild started clapping in happiness for me and some of the guys who were close to Castor slapped him on the back for taking me away from my home town while his cheeks flushed a bit from the appraisal. Though, he deserves it, he was my savior and I owe everything to him.

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><p><strong>-Angelica's POV-<strong>

I hugged Cody after he finished retelling his background with tears in his memory-swirling bright green eyes. I know that the time before meeting Castor was too painful to bear, and I recounted my time before Devilily. I know that holding grudges is bad for one's health, but even though we went and made peace with the majority of our parents, it still hurt what they did. I sucked in a brave breath, and slowly pulled away from my boyfriend but still interlocked our hands together. He was my anchor, he brought me comfort, and hopefully I for him. I took another large breath.

"Minna! If it's alright with you I'd like to now share my story." I yelled and silence settled upon the guild once again as they stared at me in anticipation. I glanced over at all of their faces, they were comforting, my eyes rested longer on the team I had traveled with for years, before finally lingering on Cody. Alright, enough stalling, I'm ready.

"About seventeen years ago, I was born on April eleventh and on my one year anniversary, I was visited by a heavenly messenger who blessed me with the powers of heaven. You'd think that the life of one blessed by an angel would be divine, but for me, it wasn't; or it didn't seem like it after I met Devilily. Anyways, for years I was lavished in false praise by everyone—my family, my so-called 'friends', the entire village, even strangers who I had never met. They thought that if they were nice and ended up getting blessed by the Blessed one, that they'd have a good life, or something.

"Truth be told, I believed it too. During those years, I had two younger siblings, a younger brother and sister. They both looked up to me like I was also god-sent, but I'm a regular mortal just like they were. My family didn't think that my siblings and I shared the same blood since I was obviously divine enough to be blessed, but we were family, and nothing should've changed that.

"At the time I didn't think anything of it. In fact, I don't think that I really thought for myself at all. That's when Devilily came into my life when I was eight years old. She took one look at how I was being treated and told me the blunt truth that they were all coating me in lies just to get on my good side. I didn't believe it, I thought she was the liar, and we fought. I thought that I'd be able to win since I was Blessed, but that wasn't the case when Devi completely defeated me while barely using any of her magic. After the battle, while I was resting, she came up to me, and I'll never forget when she said, 'you have potential to become better, but you're not suited for being an attacker, more like a defender, or healer. Just because you were blessed, doesn't mean you'll be getting any favors out of it, in fact, I pity you. I may be cursed, but I was told just how harsh the world really is from the get-go. Now, I'm not trying to scare you, but I just want to ask, do you really want to keep on living in this one town without knowing just how much this world has to offer you and being covered in falsehood for your entire life?'

"She left after that, and after some thought, I realized that no, I didn't want to waste away without knowing just how vast the world I live in really is. I ended up getting into a heated argument with my parents with ended up which me running away in tears until I found Devi at the train station just before she was about to leave. I ran up to her and hugged her, she was the only person that I could trust at the time, and two years later, I met Cody, Deoxies, and Castor who I love so much and now all of you who feel more to me like my loving family than my biological ones. So thank you, all of you, for being so kind, and loving, and honest." I finished with and tears were streaking down my face. At first they were from sorrow, but now, I feel so much lighter from just letting all of that out to my new family.

Cody helped me wipe away my tears as we joined the others in the guild with our hands in one another's. All of the girls ran up to us and gave us hugs, well, all of the girls minus Devilily and Deoxies. The guys patted us comfortingly on the back, shoulder, or for me on my head because of my height. I didn't mind, but I saw Castor, Devi, and Deox hanging in the back with sad smiles on their faces, or Devi with a sad understanding written in her ruby-red left eye.

"That's ironic that the cursed one who uses hell's magic is the savior for the blessed one who uses heaven's magic." I heard Gajeel-kun say in a lighter tone, followed by his usual "gi-hi," and everyone started laughing while Castor nudged Devi who just simply rolled her eyes in amusement. You know, I had thought the same thing for a while, but I don't anymore. Devilily is my dark savior who brought me back to reality in a nicer way than most, and for that, I'm grateful to her, and Castor for helping the love of my life. I squeezed Cody's hand a bit and he looked down at me while someone suggested that the guild should party and everyone else joined in.

"What is it, An-An." I smiled up at him and stood on my tip-toes to kiss his cheek.

"Nothing, other than I love you." He kissed my forehead in return.

"Me too, I love you my little angel." The two of us joined Fairy Tail's famous parties with smiles present on our faces and laughter constantly erupting from our throats. I love it here, with my amazing family.

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><p><strong>AN: And, done. Aw, I ended on such a cute line for a change. Very lovey-dovey and Fairy-Tail-Family oriented chapter. Anyways, next chapter will be Deoxies's history, as well as an answer that probably several of you have been waiting for since chapter 10. Thanks for reading, look forward to the next chapter, and I love all reviews! Enjoy your day! ;)<strong>


	14. Chapter 13: History of Universal Master

**AN: Here's the next chapter about Deoxies's history! Truths are revealed and new revelations are made by the guild. It's sadder, in my opinion, than the last two, but I hope that you'll still enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 13: The Universal Dragon Slayer's History<strong>

**-Fairy Tail Guild, November 11th, Deoxies's POV-**

I stood outside the guild doors inhaling deep breaths of crisp, cool autumn air. Today was the day, the day that I'd tell the guild my history. Why today? It seemed fitting that I'd reveal my background story on the day of my childhood friend's birthday. After all, he was basically part of the entire thing.

Just as I was about to fling the guild doors aside to allow me to waltz in, I overheard the present conversation happening, and I recognized my team's voices.

"—she may not come today, she's known to lock herself in her room and not come out until tomorrow." I heard Castor yell, and I could only guess who they were referring to (me, of course).

"Why?" I heard Mira-san politely inquire through the large wooden doors.

"Today is the birthday of her missing childhood friend who she has not heard from since she was eight and is a worried wreck because of it." Devilily stated in her usual harsh tone. I am not a worried wreck, the majority of the time. I'm offended! Then again, I did usually spend this day either in my room or the room across the hall that's supposed to be my childhood friend's room and basically relived old memories while bawling my eyes out. However, I didn't cry about it on a regular basis! I call foul!

"Then how about we go to her room to cheer her up!" Natsu, that was definitely suggested by Natsu, and the thought made me smile as everyone started agreeing with him.

"You can't just go barging into a girl's room, Natsu!" Erza yelled, probably with blush coating her cheeks, and I giggled silently.

"Why not? I go into Lucy's all the time." I heard a loud thwack, and assumed that Lucy had just hit the poor boy on the head.

"Don't say that out loud, Natsu!" She screeched causing the whole guild to start laughing. Before anyone could become mutilated any further, I pushed the guild doors open with sunlight pouring in behind me.

"Hey, guys! What'd I miss?" The guild fell into an awkward silence, and I continued to help them feel better. "You guys don't have to hide what you were discussing beforehand, I heard it all." I stated while striding over to the bar and politely asking Mira-san for my usual favorite mixed-berry smoothie. They are the best, sorry Devi. I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder and I looked down into the bright eyes of Wendy-chan.

"Are you alright, Deoxies-chan?" I smiled warmly down at her before patting her on the head.

"Yeah, I decided to change things up a bit this year." I announced while striding purposefully over to the stage with my smoothie in hand. I grabbed at chair and set it down on the stage and plopped in it while sipping my drink. "Instead of being a depressed slug for today, I'm going to share my background story." Everyone, especially my teammates, stared at me in shock while I continued to grin. I hate being depressed on this day, and I had already cried enough earlier this morning when I placed my annual unwrapped gift on my childhood friend's bed. Thank Mavis for a little touch-up magic allowing me to at least make my appearance presentable.

"Are you sure about that Deox-chan? You don't have to if you don't want to." Lucy comforted which made me smile and crouch down to meet her eyes since I was on stage.

"I'm sure, I'll just be sure to make up for it later by moping more on my birthday. No harm done." I smiled genuinely with a joking twinkle in my eyes which everyone caught and started laughing aloud about it. I returned to the seat that I had dragged up on the stage and everyone took their seats in order to listen to my story in a more comfortable position.

"Alright, well my life started about seventeen years ago on January first which was when I had received my magic. My childhood friend had been recently born already and was present for when I was brought into this world, and he was also there when I got my magic. Five hours after I was born at midnight, my mother described how it looked like the universe had entered my body since I flashed with what seemed like a pure reflection of the night sky before going back to my normal self with slightly pale skin, black hair, and violet eyes.

"Three years passed, and my childhood friend and I became not only the best of friends, but the biggest known rivals in our village. Of course, there were other children, but none were as close of age as we were. On my third birthday, we held our annual sword festival where the Dragon Master's Blade would be laid out and people would try to touch it. Only people in my village could attempt to, and my childhood friend and I dared one another to try when we thought no one was watching. He tried, but got repelled by the blade. We threw shots at one another before I tried, and to my surprise was able to fully grasp the hilt. Upon touch, I saw visions of the past, present and future for myself even if they were just fragments. The elder of the village noticed my hand on the blade, and told everyone to come quickly. He explained how I was chosen to not only be the Master of the Dragon Blade, but also I was the Master of the Universe since the legend surrounding the blade foretold that only the true Universal Master could wield this blade. You'd think that my childhood friend would be jealous, but instead he was ecstatic and the two of us with our families celebrated together. However, things turned sour after that.

"A notorious powerful band of mage snatchers were approaching our village since they had heard about not only me, but my childhood friend who had realized his magic a little before I had. For our own safety, our parents and village told us to run to the safe cavern. We thought that this would save our village and ourselves. However, after a few days of staying there, my Guardian showed up outside the cave. She told us not to be afraid of her, and that we needed to go with her in order to train our magic for proper use. She flew us over our village after we begged her to, and what we saw is ingrained painfully into my mind today. The entire village was demolished and still smoking with fires. It was one of the few times that I've actually seen my best friend cry.

"For years my friend and I trained with Novaxy to build up our magic and to learn how to better control it. Since Novaxy was a universal dragon, she could teach my friend the basics of his magic while teaching me everything I needed to know about mine. Those were some of the best times of my life. Every night, we'd sit outside before curfew and gaze at the stars while Novaxy told us stories in a soothing voice. That ended when I was eight once my childhood friend disappeared without even saying goodbye. I remember crying for days and Novaxy confessing that she knew about his departure a few days before his leaving. I didn't blame her for not telling, I would've done whatever I could have to make him stay, but that's not what he wanted, obviously.

"Two years passed and I still enjoyed Novaxy's company until she disappeared leaving me undefended against any and all who still wanted to make use of my abilities. I ran for months before I came here the first time. It was the most fun that I had since my childhood friend had vanished even if it was only a few days. When I left, it was like tearing my heart out and I was once again on the run for a few more months before I happened to stumble into Devilily and Angelica while they were eating lunch. When the three of us combined our magic, we were able to hold off my pursuers and then they offered to let me help on the job that they had taken. That's when we met Castor and Cody who had also taken the same job. Afterwards, we had become such good comrades while on the mission that we decided to band together and just become a traveling group of nakama." I ended on that note and I felt tears welling in my eyes causing my vision to become a bit hazy. I quickly brushed them aside and stood from my seat on the stage.

All eyes were still focused on me as I descended with the chair in hand. When I was on the ground floor with everyone else, a massive wave of hugs issued from all of the guild members which startled me enough to cause me to lose my balance and fall over with everyone coming with me. We all had a fit of hysterical laughter before slowly getting off which allowed for feeling to come back in my legs. Erza helped me up and I faced the guild with a smile on my face. Erza pulled me into a sisterly embrace that I reciprocated.

"This shall forever be your home, Deoxies, we just want you to know that. And if you ever need me to beat the living daylights out of your childhood friend when he shows his face, just let me know." We started laughing at that, but I don't think that I'll want to beat him up _too_ badly. Maybe a punch to the gut and a hard kick in the shin plus a solid slap to the face will relieve the majority of my anger towards the guy.

"Oh, by the way, you mentioned something about a dragon blade, what is that?" Wendy inquired out of pure curiosity. It'll be easier just to show them and answer any remaining questions than try to describe it. So, I summoned my Dragon Master's Blade which was the same sword that I used on the mission I went on with Erza. Its blade was a sheen mixture of materials with the outer blade the most strongest and powerful metal known that was molded to a 120 centimeters long straighter blade that expanded outwards the closer to the end before curving backwards in a claw-like shape. The hilt was wrapped in a comfortable yet sturdy cloth grip with the decorations of imprinted stars and two trailing stars for even more decoration. Everyone stared at it in awe.

"Are you the only one who can wield this?" Erza asked in a way that made me think that she probably wanted to try using it once. I smiled a bit sadly.

"Yeah, the barrier protecting the blade only allows the universal master to wield it. The entire sword was made by all of the dragons known in existence combining their powers and then getting fused together by the Universal Dragon into one sword that could only be used properly by the Universal Master; which was why when I was able to grasp this sword Novaxy came to Earthland to train me." Gramps stepped forth from the crowd to get a better look at the sword.

"I can see how it is dragon made, the magic of the dragons emits off of it, but you said that you were the only person who could use it properly. What did you mean by that?" I shrugged, in all honesty, the majority of the blade is still a mystery to even myself.

"The blade has the ability to slice through anything, magic or not, with minimal effort. However, since this sword was created by dragons, I don't know if other dragon-slayers can hold it, but I _do_ know that they cannot wield it without taking damage. Like perhaps it'll burn their skin or drain their energy, but for me, there aren't any side effects."

"Is that a dragon claw at the end of the blade?" Natsu asked in a giddy voice probably because we were talking about dragons.

"Yeah, though I don't know exactly which dragon it came from only that it was an incredibly powerful one. That was just a rumor I picked up a while ago from the elder of my village. I never had the opportunity to clarify it with Novaxy." I decided that this was enough questions for one day, so I tossed the sword up into the air where if flipped three times before vanishing. "You get used to an off-kilter sword after a while." I shrugged sheepishly before the guild decided to party in celebration of me opening up and in honor of my childhood friend's birthday even though they have no idea who he is. The thought brought tears to my eyes. Wherever you are, I hope that you're safe, my dear childhood friend and rival.

I joined the party with so many laughs that I lost count somewhere. In the middle of all of it, I made my way over to Lucy who was sitting on a bar stool while laughing at the males' idiotic fight. I sighed and shook my head when I saw who exactly was fighting. The usual members of Natsu, Castor, Gray, Gajeel, and Elfman where punching each other witless. I let out a laugh while sitting down next to Lucy.

"Even though that fight is completely idiotic and will probably leave this guild in ruins, it just wouldn't be Fairy Tail without those guys brawling." I laughed and Lucy smiled before joining me.

"Hey, thanks for sharing your past today, Deoxies. I know that it was probably difficult for you especially considering what day it is." Lucy softly said to me with a smile on her face.

"Thanks for listening and understanding, but like I said, I wanted a change this year. I didn't want to worry all of you by moping around my house all day feeling sorry that I let my childhood friend go off on his journey alone. I have a new family now, and if he ever shows up, well, then I know that this family will be able to accept him, plus, this guild is helping me become strong enough to start to move on. So, thank you." We hugged each other in gratitude and sentimentality.

"Of course we're here for you; that's what family's for!" We were both grinning broadly and a random thought popped into my mind.

"Lucy, did you think about the answer to my question from before?" Her face and her neck were both beet red and she turned away in a fail attempt to conceal it.

"I-I—sure I did, but there's no way he'd share the feelings, he's too dense, if you know what I mean." I giggled silently before glancing over to the guy that we were talking about who was still brawling against Castor and Gray.

"I wouldn't completely rule it out, Lucy. You never know with him, but just don't wait too long. Sometimes it's better to just jump first and think later." She stared at me with confusion written in her big brown eyes, and I smiled knowingly. It's sometimes good being able to read people, other times, not so much. "If you jump first, no doubts and fears can fester, but that doesn't mean that it's the best solution; but sometimes it's the only one." I grabbed her wrist and we both rejoined the party with smiles evident on our faces as we laughed with the rest of our upside-down weird, but loving, family.

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><p><strong>AN: And that's a wrap. Deoxies's story is sad that it even brings tears to <em>my<em> eyes, which is quite hard. The answer to the question in chapter 10 is implied there at the end of this chapter, and now more is known about the mysterious childhood friend. Next chapter will be about the pasts of the last two members of my band of OCs. I probably won't be updating until after exams are over, so it may take a while for the next chapter. But, look forward to it! Thanks for reading and I love all reviews! ;)**


	15. Chapter 14: Secrets of World and Hell

**AN: Exams are over so now I can focus a bit more on writing, finally! And how fitting seeing that this is the last chapter of the ever-depressing Backgrounds Arc, if one would call it that. This chapter is solely focused on Castor and Devilily, again, hence the title. Out of all of them, I find these two's pasts the saddest, but I hope you will enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 14: The Secrets of World and Hell<strong>

**-Fairy Tail Guild, November 30th, Castor's POV-**

It's been a couple of weeks since Deoxies shared her past on her childhood friend's birthday. I had not been expecting that, but it was good to see her doing something on that day. Over these past couple of weeks, I have gone on missions with everyone on my team at some point, as well as with Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel. Of course, we needed to bring a few females along or else we may have destroyed the town where the jobs took place. Ever since I came here, I've smiled and laughed so much more than I have in the past, but I guess this guild has that type of effect on people. I noticed that everyone in our little group was changing, some slower than others. Angelica and Cody were visibly more relaxed and more content, Deoxies seemed right at home with the others of the guild, I was enjoying the other guys' company since they had similar personalities to my own, and heck, even the emotionless devil was showing more emotions in her eyes.

I'm glad that Deox brought us here, but I think it's time that we, Devs and I, told our own stories. We had been talking about it for about a week now, and had agreed that today was the day. I silently slipped away from the guys and strode over to the devil with my usual self-assured air. It's in my nature to be a troublemaker with a confident and sly personality. I found her at one of the tables fake laughing with Erza and Lucy about something. I know that she didn't mean for her laugh to be fake, she just doesn't know how to express her true feelings as comfortably. I stood awkwardly at the end of the table while the girls continued to laugh. I coughed loudly to get their attention, and when they looked at me, Devi sensed what I had come over here for.

"Lucy, Erza, do you guys mind if I talk to Devi?" The two nodded their heads, and I mentally sighed. "In private, please?" Evil grins appeared on their faces as they slowly got up from their seats.

"Sure, Castor, of course we'd give you alone time with Devi, since you guys are just _so close_." I felt my cheeks flush in a mixture of rage and embarrassment.

"It's not like—argh! Must girls always assume something?" I groaned as I planted my face into the table after I had taken a seat. I heard Devi's fake giggle and I looked up to see her attempting to hide her mouth with her hand, but I still caught the corner of a genuine smile. My face grew warmer.

"It's in our nature, Cas, but I can figure the real reason that you came over." I slowly recovered as Devs removed her hand which left her face emotionless once again.

"Yeah, do you want to tell them now?"

"Sure, they've waited long enough, and I think—I think I'm okay." Sadness danced in her ruby red eyes which made me frown slightly. I didn't like that sad glimmer in her eyes, in fact, I hated it.

"Devs, I'll be right there with you, and Cody, Angelica, and Deox will all be looking out for you as well. Hell, the entire guild will be on your side, no matter what!" She smirked at me and I smiled my troublemaker's grin. The two of us got up from our seats and crept over to the stage but not until after we had grabbed chairs for ourselves to sit in.

The guild was being too rowdy to notice, and I observed Devilily growing irritated. She mumbled something under her breath and the guild went pitch black before the lights flickered back on. Well, that was one way to get their attention. I figure that it'd be best if I went first to give Devs some extra time to steel her nerves.

"Hey, everybody, uh, it's been a while since we've joined, huh?" I gulped, this was harder than I'd imagined. "Well, Devs and I decided that it was about time that we told you our backgrounds, so if that's alright with you guys, I recommend that you get comfortable by sitting down on something." While everyone in the guild was finding someplace to sit down, I took deep intakes of breath to calm my nerves. I could feel Devi's concerned stare on me, but I didn't look. I felt the chain bracelet with the yellow lightning bolt surrounding the red diamond pulsing on my wrist. It was soothing for me and permitted me to believe in myself that I could get through this. Old memories resurfaced as I took my final deep breath before beginning.

"Similar to the others, about seventeen years ago I was born on the summer solstice. I never got a specific date, only that I was born on the solstice. Anyways, from the moment I was born, I had been sickly. Even over the smallest things I'd get incredibly sick, and for a newborn, that had a higher probability of being fatal. However, three months after I was born, an earthly figure appeared before my parents and offered to make me permanently well. They, of course, took it. That's when my magic took form into Worldly and Living magic. For the next three years, I enjoyed life, minus the fact that when I had extreme emotions I caused something to happen with my magic. I thought life could remain that pleasant forever. Boy, how wrong I was.

"On my third birthday, just as I was about to blow out the candles on my birthday cake, Worldly monks showed up at my door requesting that I'd get taken with them for training of my powers. I don't know what specific conversation transpired, but all I know is that my parents agreed and I was forced to leave with the monks after I had finished my cake. They were basically telling me 'hey, you can finish that delectable looking cake in front of you, but right afterwards you're coming with us strangers to someplace you've never heard of with your parents' consent, so hurry up!' So much for a happy birthday.

"Well, for two years I stayed. While I was there, they forced me into rigorous training of my magic that pushed me to the brink in the most remote place imaginable, basically the edge of the world. Whenever I did something wrong, they'd make me suffer through brutal pain, and their favorite was whipping me." When I paused, I saw Natsu's eyes grow wide in remembering my scars on my back, but I kept going. "Finally, when I was five years old, they grew tired of my stubbornness to not do as told and forced me to go out into the world and see if I could 'commune with it.' I destroyed my room before leaving, which felt really good, and I never looked back as I made my way out into the world.

"My life was going smoothly, that is until I was seven and ended up getting amnesia where I forgot a few days and woke up in some random person's house, who I still don't know to this day, saying that my amnesia isn't permanent, but will take time to recover. I never felt quite right after that, but then again, I guess losing a chunk of memory can do that to you. Anyway, a year later I ran into this one guy about my age and we brawled together which was a pretty good fight before we both went our separate ways. It was around that time that I waltzed into Cody's village and saw him on display like a caged animal. He didn't look happy even if a polite smile adorned his face. So I asked him about it and if he'd like to see all that the world has to offer. He agreed and for the next two years I never felt completely lonely. It was when we were ten that we took a job in some town that we ended up completing it with Devi, Deox, and Ange where the five of us became close friends and decided to travel with one another. Seven years later, here I am with my new family and I love it." I ended and silence remained on the guild. It's a lot to take in, I almost couldn't finish, but I remembered how many good times I spent here that empowered me to continue.

"You said that you had amnesia, have you recovered from it?" Gray asked out of pure curiosity and I shook my head.

"I remember fragments, but nothing that's really useful. I sometimes see more memories in my nightmares, but they're always blurry and hard to interpret."

"That's harsh man, but we'll help in whatever way we can, right?" Gray directed at everyone in the guild who boisterously agreed. I smiled at that, it's true that I may be able to better piece together my memories with more minds thinking about it.

"Thanks guys, I'll keep that in mind next time I get a vision." Smiles appeared on their faces and I felt a light punch to my arm and turned to see Devi giving me a "told you so" look. I rolled my eyes before mouthing to her "your turn."

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><p><strong>-Devilily's POV-<strong>

I glared at Castor, no duh it's my turn. I'm not an idiot like he is. I took a deep breath, and felt my exhalation shake. I need to do this, no matter the pain that resurfaces. My cursed scar on my right side of my face throbbed dully in pain. It would never let me forget it as I retold my tale. I felt Castor's concerned gray gaze on me but I ignored it. No time for sentimentalities. I cleared my throat loudly which caught everyone's attention.

"Alright, now that you've heard Castor's, I'll tell you mine. I recommend that you settle down and get even more comfortable than before." They did as told and Castor swiveled his seat to face me as well. He's already heard this, so why is he doing that? Whatever floats his boat, I guess. I stared at everyone in the guild, yet was staring at no one. It helped ease my nerves further as the suppressed pulsing of pain from my scar was tuned out.

"I was born about seventeen years ago on the autumnal equinox in September. It was, supposedly, a night of perfect balance since the moon was at its first quarter phase. Well, my family is known for their magic, and I ended up being born with too much magic in my body. I was going to die because of this flaw. On my last night, there was a lunar eclipse and a shadowed figure appeared before my parents offering to save me but in turn I'd be cursed. They saved me since what parent doesn't want to save their newborn child who's dying, but they must've been deaf-eared when the figure mentioned a _curse_ would be placed on me. It's because of the curse that I'm alive today and it was because of the curse that my magic is hell.

"Three years later, on a seemingly normal day, I was getting called cruel names by this one really rude boy in my village, and since he had been doing it for a while now, I finally blew. I ended up unconsciously cursing him into a coma by accident which started my life's downward spiral. That night, after I had yelled at my parents for not telling me about it, I had a nightmare that I don't entirely remember except for the fact that I woke up to screaming that belonged to my mother and blood dripping off my right side of my face. Once the bleeding had stopped, I was able to clean up but every time I tried to cover my wound with something for protection, it got burned off. So, I started covering that side of my face with bangs so that no one would be able to see my scar. My mom was never the same after that incident.

"Two years went by and I was all alone. Nobody dared to come within a three meter radius of me, and I never saw my parents again. It was on my fifth birthday that I saw my mom doing something in my room. When I figured out what she was doing, she yelled at me to get out and that I wasn't her daughter so she didn't belong in this household. I was told to get out by sundown or I'd be forcibly removed. I packed whatever essentials I thought I needed and left without looking back to show my tears.

"Anyway, for two years I did pretty well on my own. My control over my magic had greatly improved and I was able to make money to survive all by myself. It was when I was seven that I found my first friend. We got along for a few days and it was during that time that my life seemed, brighter. However, after those few days, he betrayed me, in a sense, and disappeared without a trace. It was after that that I lost the ability to show emotion and life became bleak. When I was eight, a random traveler who was a bit older than me asked to fight which we did and we got a long for that day that we knew each other, but we parted ways.

"Then, I met Angelica in the town that the train that I was riding broke down in. I saw how she was treated, and I know when people are lying or have an ulterior motive for their friendly fronts. I told her the blunt truth, she disagreed, we fought, I won, I went to her later and asked her a thoughtful question, and went back to the train station which was when I felt something small and wet hug me. I turned and saw that Angelica had run away and wanted to travel with me. She didn't care about who I was; she just wanted to be with the one person who she could trust.

"For two years I didn't feel that lonely anymore and when the two of had taken a job in this random town, we saw a girl about our age of ten being followed by a group of people. We ended our lunch early to help and the three of us took care of the pursuers before I invited the girl, or Deoxies, to join Ange and me on our mission. We then met Cody and Castor at the job and ended up getting along enough to decide to travel with one another. Now, we're living here, in contentment with a family that cares." That's it, I'm done. I quit talking, silence is so much better. The guild was wrapped in the hushed cocoon since they probably didn't know how to react.

I didn't really want to see their expressions, but couldn't resist the natural curiosity of humanity to want to know. All of their expressions were either blank (the guys), or slightly sympathetic and understanding (the girls). None of them were staring at me in disgust or the longing to get as far away from me as possible, and I felt happiness bubble in my chest. They weren't rejecting me like so many others, and I was so thankful that Deox suggested that we join this guild. I felt the urge to smile at them, but I couldn't, my habit of being emotionless wouldn't let the smile shine on my face, but a smile did dance in my left eye.

"Juvia wonders what happened to your overflowing magic?" Juvia asked and I looked towards the water mage.

"It was dispelled into various portions of hell. But since it's my magic, I have the ability to call upon it which causes me to transform into a representation of the portion of hell where the magic came from. Since the magic is not attached to my body, I get a renewed amount of magic every time I 'transform'."

"So, it's similar to my 'Knight' except instead of only having one or two containers in your body, you have several scattered." Erza interjected and I nodded.

"Could we see your scar?" Gajeel asked and I was shocked, as well as the rest of the guild, it seems.

"GAJEEL! What if she doesn't want to show her scar!" Levy yelled while slapping him while the iron dragon slayer grinned.

"Nobody's going to judge, and besides, scars are usually pretty cool."

"It's fine, Levy, just no flipping out." I interrupted just before Levy was about to retort to Gajeel's comment. I pulled my bangs back by clipping them out of my face with my fire-lily clip which allowed my right eye to be revealed. I slowly opened it and my vision was altered. All light, to me, disappeared from the room and all I saw was shadows of everyone. The guild looked eerie in this darkness which was a stark contrast to its usual bright and cheery nature. I heard nothing as a reaction from everyone, not even the usual gasp. I was lost in thoughts when Castor stepped in front of me. He hadn't been altered very much in this hellish version of the guild, except that everything about him seemed a bit darker, like the shadows of his past were now plastered visibly onto his very being.

"Hey, Devs, snap out of it." He snapped his fingers in front of my line of vision and I quickly closed my eyes while cursing under my breath. That's what I hate about that eye; it made everything seem like a dark trance. I removed my fire-lily clip from my hair which caused my long red and black bangs to cascade in front of the right side of my face once again.

"It looks irritated; does it need any medical attention?" Happy asked and I shook my head.

"It's a cursed scar, and those are never completely healed. It'll never become infected, but it'll always look and feel relatively fresh." I explained and I noticed that the rest of my group, as well as Lucy and Natsu, were remaining quiet.

"What about your actual eye, it was discolored." Charle asked in her usual blunt tone which reminds me of my own.

"That's my reminder and the symbol of my curse. Since I see a more distorted world through it, I leave it closed."

"Wait, that means that you're incredibly powerful while having your vision impaired. Now _that's_ manly!" Elfman piped up and Evergreen hit him with her fan.

"She's a woman you dimwit!" She yelled and everyone started laughing at their husband-and-wife act. I let out a fake laugh, but amusement for all those who noticed, was shining in my eyes. Soon, this turned into an entire guild fight which everyone joined in, even Erza ended up getting involved for the heck of it. It wasn't until Master yelled at all of us to stop with tears streaming down his face from the state of the guild. I love this guild, I really do.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And that's it for this chapter and the background section of the story! Yay, no more chapters only based on sorrows! Bright and cheeriness for a while...probably. Yes, this chapter was very dark and I apologize for that, but it's part of who Castor and Devilily are. But like I said, I'm done with sorrows for the time being! Next chapter will be the start of a new arc, which I hope you all will look forward to. Thanks for reading through these tough three chapter and reviews are always welcome! Enjoy your day! ;)<strong>


	16. Chapter 15: The Festival of Stars (Prep)

**AN: I'm back with the new arc of my story...The Festival of Stars Arc! I completely made this up since I wanted a break from depressing-ness with a little humor, action, and a bit of romance (*nudge, nudge; wink, wink*). Anyways, this is the beginning stage to introduce the series of events that'll follow. Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 15: The Festival of Stars (Preparations)<strong>

**-Fairy Tail Guild, December 16th, Normal POV-**

It was an average day in Fairy Tail. The sun was shining brightly in the almost-winter sky with a slight chill in the air. Within the guild, the members were just as rowdy as ever with Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel fighting over something completely pointless and Elfman yelling something along the lines of his usual "that is man" whenever he deemed a situation worthy of that praise while Evergreen smacked him if the statement was irrelevant. Cana was on another large barrel of beer, and Juvia was outwardly cheering for her "Gray-sama" causing the ice-make mage to blush. Levy was off in a secluded corner of the guild reading a work of literature while every once-in-a-while glancing over to the iron dragon slayer. Happy, Charle, and Panther-Lily were flying around the guild and cheering for either Natsu (Happy) or Gajeel (Panther-Lily) before settling on a table and communicating with one another. Romeo was cheering for his role model, Natsu, when Wendy tripped nearby to him over something small causing the boy to catch her otherwise she would've knocked them both over. Lucy was at the bar and conversing with Mira and Lisanna over something while sneakily glancing out of the corner of her eye at the fire dragon slayer. Erza was joining the three girls' discussion every now-and-then in between bites of her strawberry cake. Laxus and Gildarts were all talking amongst themselves while keeping a lookout upon the state of the guild while the rest of the members were glancing at the request board, talking, drinking, watching the ongoing brawl, or all of the above.

The members of Life & Death Illusion were currently absent from the guild due to the fact that they had recently taken a S-class mission for the five of them to complete, meaning that they'd be gone for a few days. The usual chaos in the guild didn't end until the Master appeared and raised his voice to a level just below possible hearing damage.

"All right, brats, listen up! The King has invited all of the guilds who assisted in preventing the dragons from taking over the land to the annual Festival of Stars held in Crocus! We will be arriving three days prior to the start of the festival on the King's request, so everyone go home and pack for the trip since we won't be back for at least six days!" Master Makarov announced which was followed by exuberantly loud cheering. The majority of the guild rushed out of the hall to quickly pack any belongings that could be necessary on the trip. Gildarts strode over to Makarov.

"Do you think we should tell those who are out on a mission know about this?" Gildarts inquired in a kind manner.

"The only ones who are currently on a mission are Deoxies and others from her group."

"That's true, so they probably will hear about it through Deoxies then. It just depends on when they manage to finish up their mission, which was what again?"

"To purge a town of a nest of high-level monsters and retrieve their stolen goods if possible with minimal damage."

"For them the toughest job would be locating the nest and retrieving the goods intact." The two men started chuckling at the joke about how easily it was for the guild to go on a rampage and end up demolishing a bit more than what was necessary.

"That, or not destroying the town." The two had another round of laughing whereas the Master was mentally praying that there would be no complaints that he would have to file later. The laughing session between the two older males ended when Master took on a more serious tone. "I will contact them on the nineteenth if they have not yet arrived at Crocus to check up on them. I just need your assistance in reminding me to do so." Gildarts chortled silently to himself while nodding to Makarov's reasonable request.

* * *

><p>Later that day, the guild was all prepared and boarding a train at Magnolia station to go to Crocus. They filled up a few compartments with just guild members since no one wanted to be with rampaging wizards where injuries are highly probable. The train ride was a long one and they wouldn't arrive in Crocus until the seventeenth, tomorrow. On the ride, all of the dragon slayers, except Wendy, got motion sickness and keeled over. Wendy managed to assist Gajeel and Laxus, but since Natsu had somehow gained resistance to Troia, he was then forced to suffer. Lucy allowed him to lie down on her lap under the conditions of no puking andor drooling on her thighs. Gray and Erza sat in the seat across from Lucy and Natsu while Juvia sat in the booth directly behind Gray with the two Strauss sisters and Wendy. The Raijinshu tribe was sitting in a booth together with Cana replacing Evergreen since she was next to Elfman in a different seat. Gajeel was sitting with Levy and Panther-Lily in a nearby seat to the fire dragon slayer while Happy and Charle had their own seat. Master Makarov sat with Gildarts and the rest of the guild each found a comfortable seat somewhere on the train. Eventually, the mayhem of the guild settled down as nightfall washed over the world causing the majority of the mages to fall into a deep slumber before the next day of craziness arrived.

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><p><strong>-Capital of Fiore (Crocus), December 17th, Normal POV-<strong>

It was a beautifully sunny day in Crocus with slight coolness lingering in the air to remind the folks that it was almost-winter. Many people stopped to watch the number one guild in Fiore, Fairy Tail, walk by on their way to the palace. Of course the guild wasn't epically silent; they were rambunctious as always with several members fighting with one another and Erza breaking it up while the rest of the guild was laughing at the scene.

When the guild arrived at the palace, they were immediately allowed entry since the guards were forewarned of their appearance and quickly lead them to the main hall. Once there, the guild was met by a pleasant surprise.

"Hey, the late Fairies finally showed up!" Sting joking yelled out and everyone started laughing.

"At least our entrance was grander than yours, Sting." Natsu retorted in the same manner and Fairy Tail started laughing while the said guy flushed in embarrassment.

"Alright, that is enough amusement for now." A powerful voice boomed from above and everyone looked skyward towards a balcony with the King, Princess, and Arcadios. It was Arcadios who had spoken before the king stepped forth.

"I welcome all of you once again to the capital, but this time for the mere annual celebration of the Festival of Stars!" Cheering erupted from all of the different guilds before calming down once again for the king to continue. "Yes, I'm quite exciting for this year's since all of the guilds will compete against one another on the first day which is the twentieth! Each guild will be putting on a show for the Festival at the arena at designated times. The winner will be decided after all of the guilds have gone and whoever gets the most votes from the viewers for the most enjoyable display! You have these next three days, including today, of preparation for the competition. And as for sleeping arrangements, you all will be sleeping in the guest portion of the palace with each guild having a section to themselves. Guild masters please step forth to be told the location of where your guild will be residing."

Makarov (Fairy Tail), Bob (Blue Pegasus), Goldmine (Quatro Cerberus), Ooba (Lamia Scale), Mermaid Heel's master, and Sting (Sabertooth), stepped forth towards Arcadios who was now on the main floor. They chatted amongst themselves while the guild members started interacting with one another.

Gray and Lyon were trash talking one another in a more sophisticated tone with Juvia clinging to Gray. Cheria and Wendy were talking happily to one another. Ichiya attempted to converse with Erza who promptly kicked him off into the distance. Gajeel, Natsu, and Rogue were having a failing conversation then inevitably turned into a fist fight (it was mostly between Gajeel and Natsu). Lucy and Levy regarded the brawling dragon slayers with withering looks and nervous laughs before commencing a conversation with Yukino. Lector, Frosch, Happy, Charle, and Panther-Lily were talking to each other since they were the only exceeds. Erza chatted with Kagura and Milliana as if they were blood siblings and the two from Mermaid Heel confessed that they haven't completely forgiven Jellal, but they wouldn't try to rip out his throat upon sighting. Ren and Sherry were being a lovey-dovey couple at the edge of the room while the other tri-men went around to various groups of women and tried to please them, mostly to no avail. Laxus, Jura, Gildarts, and Orga were gruffly standing in a group with words exchanging every now-and-then. Cana was being herself with the guys from Quatro Cerberus which ended when Gildarts came over to and played the overly protective father role. This made Cana a bit ticked off and the two bickered while the Quatro Cerberus guys all stood dumbstruck at the newfound knowledge. Soon enough, the entire hall was wrapped up into a brawl that had started off in small pockets but inexorably grew to envelop practically everyone in the chaos. Those who tried not to get involved were furiously darting around trying to dodge the flying people. All of the masters eventually noticed the chaos issuing and put an end to it by threatening, displaying their magic, and yelling. This was going to be a very hectic Festival.

The guesting rooms were organized so that each guild had a separate area that all connected to a central building that was a lounge and the grand eating room. The "mess hall" had large double doors that led to the outside world. In the Fairy Tail portion of the guesting area, they organized it so that all of the males' rooms were on one side of the hall while the females' were on the other. They set beds aside in various rooms for the eventual arrival of Deoxies's group as they all unloaded their stuff and made themselves comfortable. Once they were all settled in, Master called them into the hallway for a brief discussion of ideas for their grandiose display for the festival.

"I predict that a great number of the other guilds will be pulling off some stunt with the majority of their members while highlighting their stronger ones." Mavis speculated to start off the discussion, and everyone agreed with the famous Tactician.

"So, then what do you propose, First?" Makarov inquired while the founding master continued to ponder.

"Doesn't one of the new members have a teleportation ability?" She asked and some of the members started figuring out where she was going with this.

"Are you suggesting that we use Cody's ability so that we have a series of displays with different members grouped together similar to our famous Fantasia parade?" Lucy merely asked towards the first who nodded.

"That's an excellent idea since no other guild has such a grand Fantasia parade and with the use of Cody we can do a sequence similar to floats. Who'll be the different groups?" A roar of noise erupted as people started chatting about who'll be in what group. However, the noise soon ceased to exist when a loud crash resounded through the hall.

"Aren't you all forgetting something important? This idea is resting on the shoulders of one member who isn't currently present to give his imput." Hushed silence fell upon everyone as they thought about that point. "But I think we can use this as our main plan, and have a backup one just in case." Gildarts added as an easing afterthought.

"Then we'll ask him when he arrives!" Everyone cheered in their rehabilitated excitement and anticipation of their idea.

"I call for a group of Dragon-Slayers!" Natsu shouted which helped revamp the excitement level. The other dragon-slayers, both first and second generation, nodded in agreement while Mavis began mentally planning how the display would go. She whipped out an air pen and began writing the plan while everyone watched her and agreed. It was time for the festival preparations to begin, Fairy Tail style.

* * *

><p><strong>-Crocus, December 19th, Normal POV-<strong>

For the past two days, all of the invited guilds have been preparing for their displays in different locations for practice and decorations (if needed). For Fairy Tail, the groups had been decided and were practicing together as much as they could with a few of them missing members. Deoxies's group had yet to show up which was worrying Master. Today was the day he had planned on calling them if they hadn't arrived before hand, but even if they showed up tomorrow, they'd have no practice before the display and they had yet to be in a Fantasia parade. And this wasn't even including the possibility of them not arriving in time for the display which'll throw their plan out the window since Cody wouldn't be there in that case. This may be a bit tricky.

All of the guilds were settling down in their boisterous manners while eating breakfast. Guild members were mingling with everyone and laughs could be heard from far beyond the outside of the hall. Suddenly, the loudness turned to silence when the two large doors slammed open with a loud _BOOM_.

"Hey, guys, sorry we're late!" A familiar voice shouted from the doorway, but with the light streaming in behind them, it was hard to make out their figures. However, the members of the guild they were referring to immediately brightened in mood. As the group made their way through the crowd, everyone noticed who they were.

"Deoxies, what took you so long?" Lucy asked while running up to her friend with the others of Fairy Tail beside her. The Universal Master scratched her neck sheepishly.

"Err, the destroying of the nest of monsters wasn't that hard, nor was the retrieving of the stolen items, but _some people_ ended up destroying the entire town in the process." Deox shot an accusing glare at Castor and Devilily while the guild laughed.

"It was your fault for having to use a giant landslide-earthquake attack." Devilily blamed Castor in monotonous voice; the worldly wizard didn't take this in a civil manner.

"It was not! And you are just as guilty with your—" Castor started but was interrupted by a rival/friend of his chortling with his usual "gi hi".

"What, did you lose control like a little kid?" Gajeel shot towards his friendly adversary with Natsu and Gray joining in with smug grins.

"Like you're one to be talking. Who is it that consistently destroys the guild with his iron techniques?" Castor retorted and the two most famous rivals were snickering.

"Ooh, he got you there, metal freak." Gajeel punched Gray sending him flying across the room.

"Ha, ha, and the metal freak got _you_, ice princess!" Natsu laughed causing Gray to come at Natsu and the two to start brawling with one another. Everyone started laughing at the ludicrous battle until Erza stepped forth and gripped the two in her hands and smashed their heads together.

"Silence, both of you!" People started cracking up at Fairy Tail's typical fight between the male idiots while the more intelligent people sighed with smiles adorning their faces. Master stepped forth towards the group.

"So I take it that I'll be receiving a request for a letter of apology in the very near future as well as a bill for reparations?" The old stout man began tearing up and Deoxies crouched down with a pleasant smile on her face.

"No, you'll be receiving no such thing, Gramps. My team fixed up the town before we left making it as good as new. That's what took us so long because _some people_ kept getting into fights and screwing up our hard work!" She directed her last comment to the hell and world mages. Castor gulped in fear while Devilily pointed one slender pale finger in the direction of the black-haired male.

"He started every fight by rudely insulting my work." Castor feigned a betrayed look.

"How could you Devi! I thought we agreed not to rat each other out!"

"I don't recall ever concurring to such a thing." People where now boisterously laughing at the two's fight. Castor looked to his long time friend, Cody, for back up while he just simply stated that he "didn't want to face the wrath of the devil". In the end, Castor ended up taking the blame for the group's tardiness.

After that "little" hiccup from the morning meal, everyone settled back down and restarted chowing down on their breakfasts while conversing with one another. It was at this time that Jura, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, walked over to Master Makarov.

"I don't recall ever seeing those five members in your guild, Makarov-dono. Who are they, if I may ask." Jura politely inquired and Master smiled.

"They joined the guild last October, so you wouldn't know them. A great bunch of brats, just like the rest of them. They became a part of this family rather quickly." Jura nodded but noted that Makarov hadn't told him who they were. However, it was then that Deoxies strode up to the Master.

"I forgot to give you these when we returned, Gramps." Deoxies said while handing the Master a few papers—which informed the Master on the group's performance and their completion of the task—as well as a package. "The town mayor asked me to give you a gift for our wonderful services to the town ourt of gratitude and clearly stated that he would not take it back." She leaned in close to Master's ear. "It's a growler of their famous beer, and I do recommend it, even if I didn't have a single taste." Makarov beamed while the Universal Dragon Slayer giggled.

"Not to be rude, but I don't believe that I've introduced myself, I am—"

"Jura Neekis, one of the Ten Wizard Saints. Your magic manipulates rock. Yes, I've heard of you, after all, you are quite famous." Deoxies finished for Jura with a friendly smile while Jura was stunned at the girl's knowledge. "However, since I am less famous, I shall introduce myself. My name is Deoxies Space, I am the leader of my team of comrades in Fairy Tail." The two shook hands before Deox bounded away to rejoin her friends at one of the tables. Jura and Master said their pleasantries of "how are things going" and such before the valedictory and Jura taking his leave back to his table.

Meanwhile, while that conversation occurred, the Fairy Tail members swarmed the recently returned Dimensions wizard who looked startled at all of the attention he was receiving. He was holding Angelica's hand as the members (Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Gajeel, Wendy, Laxus, Juvia, Cana, Gildarts, etc.) gained devious grins on their faces.

"Why, hello there fellow guild-mates, what may I do for you?" Cody pleasantly inquired while they continued their smirks.

"Cody, I'm scared of the looks they're giving you." Ange whispered in her boyfriend's ear and he numbly nodded in agreement.

"Cody," Cana started in a weirdly pleasing tone that made the said mage cringe, "we were wondering if you could do us a _huge_ favor." Cody quirked an eyebrow, what were his friends getting at?

"We were wondering if you could help us immensely with our presentation for the competition between the other guilds." Gray continued in a more direct way and not sweetly, because that would be downright strange and a bit disgusting.

"Okay, but may I inquire as to with what?" Cody inquired while maintaining his well-mannered and polite voice.

"Well, we were planning on doing a sequence of displays similar to our Fantasia festival except we would appear and disappear from the area instead of being on floats." Erza described in a hush and brief manner.

"That's where we need your help, we can't teleport away from the stage, but you are able to teleport things and people." Everything came together for the time-space wizard.

"Ah, so you need me to teleport the groups to the designated area for them to perform their display and then whisk them off the 'stage' for the next group to appear in a similar manner, correct?" They all nodded and Cody leaned back in his chair with a contemplative sigh.

"We also understand that this is putting a hefty burden on you since you will also be performing in the display plus using up a lot of magic to teleport this many people to and fro the stage." Gildarts said before adding, "so we'll understand if you're not comfortable with it." The silence that ensued was vexing for the other guild members who were praying for a positive answer. Angelica gripped Cody's hand tighter in worry.

"It's true that using that type of magic rapidly with several masses of powerful magic can be quite taxing," Cody started making everyone droop in the despair that his answer has a high probability of being negative, "but I'm willing to put up with the challenge as long as I get support of constant refreshments, namely water." Everyone smiled broadly and tackled Cody in a bone-crushing hug while showering him with a gazillion thank yous. Angelica giggled from behind a hand at her boyfriend's predicament. It seemed like this was going to be one hell of a display.

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><p>For the rest of the day, Fairy Tail drilled the sequence into Deoxies's group's brains while all of them practiced until their feet felt like they were bleeding, the world was spinning faster than normal, and their wasn't enough oxygen in their lungs. Despite this, the males of the guild ended up having enough energy for their usual fight which ended up spreading to include all of the guild members and destroying their practice area leaving the Master crying. The massive brawl didn't end until Master grabbed the major troublemakers (Natsu, Gajeel, Gray, and Castor) with ginormous hands while Erza and Deoxies silenced them with threats of eternal pain and suffering. When the guild returned back to their designated guest rooms, there were broad, tired, grins adorning every single one of the members' faces. For them, it was just another typical day for Fairy Tail.<p>

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><p><strong>AN: The preparations stage is completed! This chapter took me a while to think up, but I hope it turned out well. Not my greatest form of writing, though. Anyway, the next chapter will be about the first day...The Competition! It may take me a while to write since I want it to be perfect. Any suggestions are welcome, and I hope you'll look forward to the update! ;)<strong>


	17. Chapter 16: The Festival of Stars (1)

**AN: The grand opening of the Festival of Stars! It took me a while to think up the proper wording and configuration of this chapter since I wanted Fairy Tail's performance to be perfect without getting too wordy, so I hope it's alright. Anyway, please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 16: The Festival of Stars (Day 1)<span>  
><strong>

**-Crocus, The Grand Magic Games Tournament Arena, December 20th, Normal POV-**

Loud blaring of music and cheers from the stands echoed throughout the surrounding area of Crocus and were being emitted from the Magic Arena. Today was the day just before winter and the start of the three-day celebration for the Star Festival held in Crocus by the King. But, as an extra bonus, the guilds who had participated in the year's Grand Magic Games and Dragon Festival were allowed to participate and display their guild's power in a friendly competition. One guild stood above the rest as the favorite, and as a special treat, it was going last as the big finale to the competition.

One after another guilds went and performed in a similar manner as Master Mavis's prediction. The members were all out there and were accenting their stronger ones for a bigger "bang". Master Makarov smirked knowing that Fairy Tail's display would outshine the rest of them. Every single one of Fairy Tail's members were in preparation mode. Adjusting their outfits, warming-up, snacking, joking around, laughing, destroying stuff—wait a second.

"Would you brats behave yourself for one measly second!?" Makarov shouted with streams of tears running down his face and the members froze mid-motion and started laughing nervously. Whoops.

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><p>Then, they heard the final cheers for the guild performing before them, Sabertooth. Fairy Tail scrambled around until the first set was in ready position and Cody readied himself, fingers in snap position. It was then that it was heard. "Nice performance by Sabertooth. Very colorful and lively! Nothing less than the fallen champions! And now for the moment you've all been waiting for anxiously, FAIRY TAIL!" The announcers shouted enthusiastically and magically, Master Makarov appeared in the center of the stadium, alone, in his Ten Wizard Saints Cloak.<p>

To start off Fairy Tail's show with a bang, they decided that Master would go first. He grew to giant's height and used his magic to create an effectively dazzling display of light. Right before his part was completed, he used a gimmick of Fairy Law, but not exactly it since it would be disgraceful to use it without reason. Instead of performing judgment, it rained down glimmers of light that left stars in the eyes of the crowd. Then, he disappeared, and the next group took his place.

Alzack, Bisca, Asuka, Romeo, Macao, and Wakaba displayed their varieties of magic. Alzack, Bisca, and Asuka all used their guns magic to shoot explosions and tornadoes and other types of elemental displays while Romeo and Macao created a variety of flames with different properties to interact with the shots and Wakaba added to this by using his smoke magic to dramatize the explosions to the maximum. When there was enough smoke for a cover, the next group emerged out of seemingly thin air.

Laki used her Wood-Make magic to set the scene while Kinana and Vijiteer danced separately through the woven wood. Droy used his plant magic to make the arena appear to be a mystic garden while Jet dashed around to stir up a fuss with flowers and leaves showering the crowd with the beauty of nature. Reedus and Nab added to the effect with their magics for more "oomph". While the crowd was bedazzled, the group was replaced by the next ones.

Next act was the Rajinshu Tribe (without Laxus) and the younger two Strauss siblings. Together, they used Evergreen's fairy magic to create light and giddy atmosphere. Freed used his rune magic to make more dramatic effects such as raining bouquets or lights. Bixslow used his "babies" to use their magical attacks in a non-harmful and theatrical way to impress the crowd. Lisanna and Elfman used their Take-Over magics to weave through the other three's displays causing an upbeat and fun-loving mood. When they had their desired effect on the crowd, they vanished and in their place was the next performers.

Next was Juvia, Gray, and Angelica for the combination of water, ice, and light. Gray, using his Ice-Make magic, created an ice palace and encased the whole arena in ice so that it glittered. He did this with the help of Juvia who used her water magic to create fountains and streams flowing all throughout the ice space. For the finishing touch, Gray and Juvia looked towards Ange who smiled warmly as feathery-white angel wings spread from her back and she used a powerful light spell to make the ice and water glitter similarly to a multi-colored prism leaving the crowd in awe. When the group disappeared, the ice shattered into shards of bejeweled colorful light for a dramatic entrance of the next group.

Immediately, the crowd fell into a hushed silence when they saw what group of people had appeared in the arena. Simultaneously, Erza, Mirajane, and Devilily snapped their eyes opened and smiled. Erza re-quipped into her Heaven's armor and used her powerful attacks for display purposes. Mira transformed into her Satan Soul form and used the flames and evil magic from it for a brilliant show. Meanwhile, Devilily had transformed into her Demon of Hell form and used her demonic and chaotic magic for her performance. The three's displays were perfectly in sync and matched with one another causing a whirlwind of blazing magic from three powerful female wizards. In the midst of all this, the three vanished leaving the next group to the stage.

Not as dangerous as a performance as the last, yet still miraculous, Lucy, Levy, and Cana were up. Levy supported the other two with her Solid-Script magic to create effects while Lucy summoned a few of her celestial spirits at a time that performed well together and created a marvelous display of celestial magic. A true image of the stars. Cana used her cards to create arcing lightning and colorful flames that the three maidens wove through with their own dances. The three ended all facing back to back and were teleported by Cody and replaced by the next group.

In a bang, Cody, Castor, and Gildarts revealed their presences in the arena. Cody used his Space and Time magic to create mirages and effects with a few more powerful dimensional spells thrown in every once in a while to mix it up. Castor used the various forms of his Worldly magic to the maximum by summoning different elements and a flashy manner as well as making exotic flowers bloom throughout the stands for the crowd to enjoy (he did this in a way so that nobody would know that it was him, he didn't want to seem girly). Meanwhile, Gildarts used his magic to support the other two by using his Crash to multiply the effects of Cody's and Castor's in such a way that the crowd was left excited and in awe of the three. Cody, unnoticeably, snapped causing the three to leave and the arena to be left bare.

Everyone was in confusion until a loud _ROAR_ ripped through the stadium and five wizards came crashing down from the sky and landed in the arena to form a circle. It was now the Dragon Slayers' turn to shine. Natsu, Deoxies, Wendy, Gajeel, and Laxus all danced around doing flips and moves with the magic of five different dragons constantly on display. Natsu's fire arced the sky, Wendy's sky magic created whirlwinds that funneled the other's magic. Gajeel's iron severed through Wendy's causing a tornado of glittering metal and shiny wind. Laxus's lightning melded with Natsu's flames to create a heated explosions of raw energy. Deox's universal dragon magic fused with the others for more theatrics with shimmering stars and galaxies visible in her "attacks". For the dragon slayers' finale, their magics morphed together to form a giant dragon who roared into a sky creating a rain of their elements in a non-hurtful form.

The dragon slayers' finale also served as a distraction as the entire guild appeared in the arena. Together, they created the word "FAIRY TAIL" written in the sky with their symbol brilliantly bright. The crowd erupted in cheers and the announcers were going crazy with their impressment. The King of Fiore and Princess smiled. The other guilds sighed at their unanimous defeat, but was smiling all the while. Fairy Tail, on the other hand, was laughing and smiling at their successful performance without destroying anything.

The announcers declared Fairy Tail as the winner of the Festival of Stars competition and all of Fairy Tail's members took a bow as their magic continued to rain down from the sky in shimmering light. Everyone was in happy mood from that friendly competition. And Even Crime Sorcery had managed to watch the opening event from afar and were smiling down at their favored guild present in the arena.

Cody was leaning heavily against Ange for support since he had depleted the majority of his magic from all of the teleporting and his display, but all of his guild mates at some point or another clapped him on the back and asked if he was okay. He answered them with a smile and Ange placed a quick kiss on his lips for his hard work which made the dimension mage flush and stutter in amazement.

Natsu swung Lucy around in his excitement causing the said girl to laugh with her partner and Happy to fly above them while celebrating with Charle and Panther-Lily. Gajeel had hoisted Levy onto his shoulders and the two were smiling and laughing. Juvia had glomped onto Gray who didn't seem to mind and the two celebrated together. Deoxies and Erza were laughing together and Cana had brought out the beer and shoved Erza one but stopped before she could offer Deox one since she recalled what Deoxies had said about her and alcohol. Gildarts smiled at his daughter while laughing with Master Makarov who was beaming at his brats. Laxus was off celebrating with the Rajinshu. The Strauss siblings were being brought into a celebratory hug by Elfman. And everyone else had their own celebratory methods while down in the arena.

However, there were a few who were not giddy and were eyeing a few specific people within the mess of the guild Fairy Tail with suspicion gleaming in their eyes.

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><p>"Nice work everybody! Thanks to our hard work and marvelous display, we've won!" Makarov announced and the guild cheered. They were back in their portion of the castle for the after-celebration. "Tomorrow, we enjoy the Festival to our hearts content! Be good, brats!" Master added as an afterthought since anyone could imagine what would happen if Fairy Tail was left on rampage. So many complaints…<p>

The males started up their usual brawl over something idiotic with only a few exceptions who remained out of the fight. Cody was sitting by Ange who was chatting happily with the girls and keeping one hand entwined with her boyfriend's. Erza, Deoxies, Lucy, Levy, and Devi were all talking with one another at a table.

"So, what're everyone's plans for tomorrow since we have a day to celebrate with freedom?" Deoxies asked causing silence to immediately fall upon the table. She grinned mischievously. "Come on, everyone spill or I'll get Mira—"

"NO!" Came the unanimous answer to the preposition of getting Mira involved. Erza, always the bravest, went first.

"Since Jellal has come by, I was planning on being with him. I don't know what we'll do, since he hast to remain under the radar, but I don't really care as long as I'm with him." She was blushing and the girls "awes" did nothing but make the blush redder.

"I was the one who snooped, so I'll go. I'm doing nothing much except hanging out and wandering the stalls. But I have to be on-call for any universal matters since this is the time of year when the fabric of the universe is the weakest. So, no definite plans for me." She shrugged as if this was no big deal, but the four other females all knew that she had really wanted to spend the day with her absent childhood friend, but no one said a thing. "How about you, Levy?"

The solid-script mage flushed beet red and she stared down at her hands in her lap. "IwasgoingtospendthedaywithGajeel." She rapidly admitted which none of them caught completely.

"I'm sorry, come again?" Lucy asked and Levy's facial coloring became redder.

"I said that I was going to spend the day with Gajeel, once I get the courage to ask him." She said a bit louder, but mumbled the last part. However, the four females all caught it with their pro hearing when it comes to this kind of thing. They smirked wickedly.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go ask him!" Lucy encouraged and Levy refused with brash hand motions.

"No way! He's right now fighting Natsu, Gray, and Castor! I don't want to die!" Erza and Deoxies gained hard glints in their eyes as they stood up while cracking their knuckles.

"Please excuse us while we go handle some maniacs." Lucy, Levy, and Devilily watched as Deox and Erza casually strode over to the four idiotic males and swiftly knocked the three who were currently unneeded before giving Levy a thumbs-up. Levy gulped loudly and cautiously made her way over to a very confused Gajeel. When she was directly in front of him, he seemed to be jolted from his stupor and looked down at the short bluenette who flinched slightly under his steely gaze.

"Um, Gajeel? Do you have a minute?" Levy tentatively asked and Gajeel quirked an eyebrow at her but nodded nonetheless. Levy took a deep shaky breath. "I—I was wondering if you would like to enjoy the festival with me tomorrow." Gajeel's expression remained stoic, so Levy wondered whether or not he fully understood what she was saying. "Um, so what I'm asking is will you spend tomorrow with me, alone, together?" She squeezed her eyes shut as she said this louder. Her face was burning and her heart was thumping loudly in her ears to the point where all she could hear was her own pulse. It took a gentle shake from two familiar warm calloused hands for her to be able to hear again.

"Oi, shrimp, don't go tuning me out after you say something like that!" Gajeel gruffly grumbled and Levy blinked a few times and stared up at him. She squinted at his face; was that _blush_ she sees? "Good, you're listening because I'm only going to say this once. Whether or not you hear me is on you, alright?" Levy nodded numbly. She was still shocked about seeing rouge tinting on the Iron Dragon Slayer's face. Gajeel took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll go with you, but don't tell anyone else!"

Levy felt as though she died and went to heaven before coming back to life. This must be a dream because there was no way Gajeel, _the Gajeel_, would agree to go out with her so willingly and easily without any prompting or pressure from others. Levy could feel herself gawking and had to use one of her hands to close her lower jaw, but she could do nothing about her wide eyes except continue to stare in shock. That is until Gajeel waved a large hand in front of her face to jerk her from her stupor. Out of the excitement of the moment, Levy squealed giddily and jumped onto Gajeel giving him a crushing hug and making him grunt in surprise. Again, out of the excitement of the moment, she pecked him on the nose before skipping away to her friends. She wouldn't tell anyone but Lu-chan. And that was out of best friend's responsibility.

All of the girls noticed the optimistic change in Levy's mood and how she sometimes drifted off to fantasy land with a broad grin on her face. They were happy for her. However, Deoxies, Erza, and Devilily then turned their attention to their next target—Lucy. The blonde gulped in fear at the looks she was receiving.

"I, uh—I think I'll turn in for the night—" Deoxies gripped her arm tightly, "—or, maybe I could stick around awhile." Lucy squeaked with cold sweat forming on her forehead and back.

"So, Lucy, what are _your_ plans for tomorrow?" Lucy glanced around everywhere but at the girls in front of her as she pondered on what to say. There was no way that she wanted to end up in the same boat as Levy-chan. How'll she escape this deathtrap?!

"I—I was thinking of—" she stopped when she saw a certain pink-headed fire-breathing idiot coming towards her table with a big grin on his face. The other girls turned and saw what Lucy was looking at before turning back to the blonde and giving her a knowing—threatening—look. Just as Natsu arrived at the table, the three girls got up and left with smirks lucidly visible on their faces. "H—hey, Natsu, what's up?" He took the seat across from Lucy as she attempted (but was failing) at calming down her rapidly beating heart.

"Nothing much, except Deox and Erza interrupted Ice Princess, Metal Freak, Squinty Eyes, and my battle." Natsu whined, and Lucy refrained from mentioning that Natsu also had squinty eyes, not just Castor.

"Yeah, well, that's Erza and Deox-chan for you." Lucy smiled, so far, so good. Natsu regarded Lucy with steady dark green eyes and Lucy felt her face begin to heat up. "W—What?" She asked in order to break the silence.

"You were incredible today during your performance, Luce." Natsu complimented and Lucy felt her face burn in response to his cheerful grin.

"You too, Natsu." He beamed some more and Lucy felt her heart skip a beat. Much more of this and she'll go into cardiac arrest.

"So, what were your plans for tomorrow, Luce?" Natsu inquired and Lucy almost gaped in shock at being asked. She managed to contain her surprise, for the most part.

"Um, nothing that I know of, why?" She asked and almost fell out of her chair in surprise when she saw a light dusting of pink make its way onto his cheeks. She blinked a few times; yup, still there.

"You know how a while back when Quake-Freak and the rest joined the guild?" Lucy nodded, recalling that wonderful time. "Well, do you also remember how you and I went on that shopping trip where you paid for everything?" Ah, that darn dare. However, she _had_ enjoyed herself with Natsu. Again, Lucy nodded and Natsu's blush became a bit more prominent. "I want to return the favor so I was wondering if you would like to see the festival with me tomorrow, possibly." His tone was hopeful, and Lucy felt her temperature spike and her heart rate to escalate. See what this person can do to her?

Lucy smiled warmly with blush coating her cheeks. "I'd love to, Natsu." She replied without a hint of hesitation and pure acceptance of his invitation. Natsu blinked in surprise for a few moments before his own charismatic toothy grin appeared on his face.

"Alright, see you tomorrow, Luce!" He said before leaving the table and heading off to fight the guys, again. Erza, Deox, and Devi returned with knowing grins on their faces.

"I got it! No need to say anything." Lucy mumbled while burying her flushed face in her hands. Deoxies lightly patted her back.

"I'll help you get ready tomorrow, Lucy." The blonde nodded before snapping her head up and pointing dramatically at the devil, who remained emotionless.

"Alright, what're your plans, Devi?!" The Hell mage glanced back and forth between Lucy and the blonde's finger before sighing.

"Sleep." Erza, Lucy, and Deox all had unanimous reactions of their jaws dropping to the table and eyes bulging in shock at this revelation. "Did anyone ever tell you how you three resemble fish when you wear those expressions?" Devilily commented with a cocked eyebrow and a flat tone. A vein popped on the three's foreheads, but they didn't blow up, yet.

"I don't accept this response from you, Devi." Deox growled before leaning over the table and gripping the front of Devi's shirt with her fist. "As your leader I _demand_ that you do something other than lounge around the room like a lazy bum!"

"That's right, or I'll personally drag you outside in your pajamas for the world to see!" Erza threatened and just as Devi was about to say that she didn't care, Mira stepped into the scene.

"Oh, if you don't have _any_ plans, Devi, how about you spend the day with Castor and go to the festival? I overheard him say that he was going to be free tomorrow." Mira sweetly suggested but the girls shuddered at the underlying threat below those kind words.

"Castor doesn't like to go to festivals." Devilily said in the attempt to weasel her way out of this predicament.

"Oh, I think he'll change his mind, right Deoxies?" Lucy stated and winked at Deoxies who immediately got her message and nodded.

"Hey, Castor! Get your ass over here, pronto!" The worldly mage heard the universal master yell and gulped in fear before as quickly as lightning dashed over. He did _not_ want to face the universe's wrath twice in one day, thank you very much.

"Yeah, what is it?" He asked in a bored tone with his arms crossed. Just because he came doesn't mean he'll cower in fear.

"You are free tomorrow, correct?" Deoxies inquired in a rather sweet tone that made Castor gulp.

"Look, I don't want to be a part of any sort of grand romantic scheme, so if that's what you need help with—" he was cut off by Deoxies, Lucy, Mira, and Erza laughing as if he had said the funniest thing in the world.

"No, nothing of the sort." Lucy giggled.

"We were just wondering of you'd be available to spend the festival with Devilily tomorrow since you're both free." Mira finished and Castor peeked at the devil out of the corner of his gray eyes. From what he saw, she was indifferent at the situation.

"I don't care, but I'm not going to force Devs into anything because _I'll_ be the one who suffers her wrath." Devi shot him a glare which he ignored, but still felt the daggers burning in the back of his head.

"Devilily, what do you have to say?" Erza asked with an underlying threat to her voice. The said female sighed.

"Whatever, I don't care." She lazily looked up at the stunned worldly mage. "You want to go together?" Castor flushed unnoticeably and looked away.

"Sure, I don't mind. See you tomorrow." He briskly took his leave to rejoin the males' brawl as the four "matchmakers" mentally screamed, _success!_ They then resumed chatting normally just when the doors to Fairy Tail's lounge slammed open to reveal the King, the Princess, and Arcadios. Silence settled unnaturally upon the hall.

"Congratulations, Fairy Tail, on a marvelous performance earlier. You kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time, don't you agree, Arcadios?" The knight nodded and the King continued to smile. "Then will you please present my proposal?" The knight bowed and stepped forth.

"His majesty wishes to hold a battle on the third and final day of the Festival of Stars within the Arena. His majesty wishes that the battle will have five different Fairy Tail members participating since he enjoys watching this guild fight. There will be a select number of participants from the other guilds, and it matters not which of your members you choose. That is all and we bid you a good evening. We do sincerely wish that you enjoy yourselves at the festival tomorrow." With that valedictory, the three royal figures left and Fairy Tail remained in their silent stupor until Master Makarov and Mavis stepped forth before them.

"Nobody fret about the King's words. I shall decide who'll participate in the battle with the advice of First. So I expect all of you brats to enjoy yourselves to the fullest tomorrow!" There was a loud cheer from the members as they carried on with what they were doing before. It seems like this was going to be quite the interesting festival to look forward to.

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><p><strong>AN: And I finished the first day of the festival! A lot of things to look forward to, right? I especially loved writing the Dragon Slayer's performance, that one's my favorite. And then there's the after-party which set up for the upcoming chapters. Next will be the second day of the Festival of Stars where Fairy Tail can enjoy themselves with couple pairings. Any suggestions for this part are welcome since I want all of my readers to thoroughly enjoy it! Look forward to it and enjoy your day! ;)<strong>

****PLEASE READ: I need help! As mentioned at the end of this chapter by the King and Acradios, there will be a battle of five Fairy Tail members versus about ten others. I am struggling with choosing the five Fairy Tail participants because I want to have a good balance of power; therefore, I would like the readers input! Also, if you have any suggestions pertaining to this matter, feel free to review or PM me! Thanks! ;)**


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